Camelford A39 road closure 'an overreaction'

Work was carried out over the weekend on what has been deemed an unsafe building

Traders in a town in Cornwall say they are concerned about a main road being shut after the A39 underwent an emergency closure at the weekend over fears a building had become unsafe.

The property, in a narrow section of Fore Street in Camelford, part of the A road, has had block work and lintels placed above windows since the closure.

One shop-owner said they had only two customers on Monday morning and they believed the closure was responsible.

Cornwall Council said the road would remain closed until there was no risk to the general public.

The A39 is currently closed to traffic because of the building

Motorists are being diverted away from the A39 onto the B3314 through Slaughterbridge and down the B3266.

Rachel Bishop, who runs the Big Sky Silver gallery, said the diversion was a "huge detour".

She said a sign saying businesses were open "as usual" was very small and it would be missed by drivers.

She said: "I've literally had two people in this morning. It's not great.

Trader Louise Woodcock, who runs a boutique in the town, said this was usually her busiest time of the year.

She said: "People can't get through. I don't know what we are going to do about it, but it needs to be resolved quickly.

"People can still park in the car park, so the town is still up and running; but I need people to come past my shop."

Resident Rodney Mowlem said three people had had windows replaced in a week and that did not end in a road closure.

He said: "That's not sufficiently unsafe for [the road] to be closed.

"I think this is an overreaction."

Trader Louise Woodcock says the road closure is affecting her business "dreadfully"

Cornwall Council said it is working with the property owner, who was responsible for making the building safe, to make sure the work was completed as soon as possible.

It confirmed the road would remain closed until it was "satisfied that the property was in a safe condition and is of no risk to the general public".

"All road signing will be subject to review and regular social media updates on progress will be provided," it added.