Sinkhole roadworks 'leave traders furious'

Trudy Davies says trade has "fallen off a cliff" since the roadworks started

Long-running work to repair a sinkhole in Hereford city centre has had a "devastating" impact on trade, retailers say.

The hole appeared in Commercial Road in July, when a sewer collapsed, with the route having to be partially closed while the work is carried out by Welsh Water. The firm has apologised and said its team was working as fast possible.

However, more than six weeks on, traders say they have yet to be given a finish date - and are thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Trudy Davies, who runs The Balloon Shop, said: "Everyone is unhappy about it - they can't even tell us when they'll be finished, and we're making no money."

Mrs Davies said the roadworks led passing trade to virtually disappearing overnight.

"One day last week I made just £38 - business has declined significantly over the last few weeks, people just aren't coming down here," she said.

"And it's got worse and worse - there's no footfall, there's nobody in the street.

"And to top it all off, we're not getting proper information. When they started, a lady from Welsh Water said they'd be done in two weeks.

"We all understand the work needs to be done, but we're now six or seven weeks on and we're having to rely on social media for updates, nobody knows when it will finish."

Abu Rahman, who runs Indian restaurant Mowchak, said he has had to tell some workers not to come in.

"I feel really bad for them - but how can I tell them to come in when I can't pay them?," he asked.

Abu Rahman says trade has declined around 60% inside his restaurant

"As soon as the roadworks started, business became completely dead.

"They haven't even told us when it will be finished - there is no longer any parking in front of the businesses and people are probably thinking we are closed.

"I'm really worried about how I can keep going to carry on paying the bills."

Helen Morgan, a hairdresser at the Kevin Barry salon, said it has been in business for 45 years.

"[And] it's always been a very busy salon. But nobody can park outside any more, you can only drive one way down the road - it's putting people off."

'Work is complex'

Another trader who opened a new convenience store on Commercial Road 48 hours before the sinkhole appeared, has told the BBC he has had to throw away thousands of pounds worth of stock because of a lack of trade.

The sinkhole appeared along the road on July 23, with Welsh Water saying they had to bring in a specialist team to clean fat and wet wipes that were clogging a sewer.

Another collapse was then found 18m (59ft) away in Monkmoor Street, by the junction with Commercial Road, resulting in the work having to be extended.

The utility firm has called the work "complex" but say they are "working hard to get it done as quickly as possible".

Businesses along the route have been asked by Welsh Water to fill in forms, estimating how much trade they have lost, with the firm saying they are "on track" to finish some time this month.

"We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank people for bearing with us," a spokesperson added.