Traders say roadworks have hampered sales

Plants Galore owner Tony Joyner said turnover at the Newton Abbot store had fallen by 34%

Business owners have said they have experienced a drop in sales since a two-year roadworks project started.

The A382, which connects Newton Abbot to the A38, has been closed since September as part of Devon County Council's scheme to improve safety, ease congestion and boost options for walkers and cyclists.

Tony Joyner, owner of the Plants Galore garden centre just off the A382, said takings had fallen by 34% since the closure, while Sarah Rittershausen, who runs Orchid Paradise at Burnham Nurseries, said it was 25% to 30% down in sales.

The council said it had worked closely with local businesses to try to minimise the effects of the improvement scheme.

The project involves an 11-month closure at Whitehills roundabout followed by a one-year closure at Forches Cross, with diversions put in place.

Mr Joyner said since the closure, his Newton Abbot store's turnover had dropped by a third compared to other sites he owned in Plymouth, Exeter and Yeovil.

He said the business was doing everything it could, but having no passing trade on the A382 was making trade "very difficult".

"Once motorists don't go along that road, it's very hard to get people to travel around Newton Abbot in either direction," he added.

The A382 - which connects Newton Abbot with the A38 - has been closed since September

Ms Rittershausen said local businesses needed "long-term support" from the council.

"We need people to keep visiting the site and keep us going because we are about 25% to 30% down on normal sales," she said.

However, Ms Rittershausen said the diversions were not "too bad" and the more people got used to them, the easier it would become to get to the site.

She hoped Christmas trade would help pick up some of the losses.

"It's going to be very hard to make this up," she added.

'Directing people to businesses'

Devon County Council said: "Access is being maintained to all of the businesses in the area, with additional signs located on the diversion routes, directing people to the businesses.

"In planning for construction, traffic modelling of the wider road network between Exeter and Torbay compared the impact of temporary traffic lights and a road closure.

"The results showed that carrying out the work under traffic lights resulted in the greatest overall impact on journey times.

"The road closure is also reducing construction time of the scheme by a year compared with using temporary traffic lights."