U-turn on 'devastating' road closures in Cotswold village welcomed

The council planned to shut two roads in Bishop's Cleeve for roadworks

A decision to close two streets in a Cotswold village has been reversed after fears it would have "devastated" traders in the run-up to Christmas.

Gloucestershire County Council planned to shut Cheltenham Road and Church Road in Bishop's Cleeve for roadworks from 6-19 December.

The closures were expected to be in place between 07:00 and 19:00 GMT from Monday to Friday.

Will Williams, of The Cleeve Bookshop, said he was "relieved" by the U-turn.

He said the closures would have been devastating for all traders in the village at a critical time of the year.

'Absolutely horrendous'

"The noise, the dirt and the disruption would have made it absolutely horrendous.

"They've not said when the roadworks will be now, it could be as late as next October," he added.

Councillor Alex Hegenbarth (LD, Bishop's Cleeve) was frustrated that the council had not consulted with local traders about the roadworks, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He said: "I'm keen to see the road resurfaced but not at any price.

"I'm glad that this work will no longer take place ahead of Christmas but I hope council will be able to reschedule the roadworks as soon as possible."

David Hicks, structural maintenance manager at the council, said the proposed resurfacing of Church Road was carefully planned to minimise disruption to local businesses, and ensure residents were able to access the community car park.

"However following discussions with the parish council on Thursday, the work has been postponed and will be rescheduled as soon as possible," he said.

Additional reporting by Alexandra Bassingham