Shops affected by Beeston tram work to hold street party

Officials said extra parking had been organised to help people get to the shops

Traders in Nottingham faced with a year of disruption through construction work are to hold a party in their streets.

Chilwell Road and High Road in Beeston have been closed to allow an extension to the city's tram network to be built.

Businesses said they were making "the best of a very bad situation" by holding the party to remind potential customers they were still open.

The city council said the total closure would allow work to progress faster and a compensation package was in place.

The £570m project, to create a tram link between the centre of Nottingham and Beeston and Chilwell, is due to be completed in 2015.

'Fabulous' businesses

The road was closed to traffic on Monday but traders said they were trying to treat it as a "temporary pedestrianisation".

The event, on 30 March, will include street entertainment, face-painting and an outdoor stage for bands.

Julie Cameron, owner of Cameron House, a gift and furnishings shop, admitted some of the 80 businesses affected had already left but others had decided to stick it out.

"We just thought it was an opportunity to get the local people round and the people from Nottingham to come down and see for themselves just how fabulous the businesses are, the fact we are still open.

"And we can let them know how to get here and where the car parks are - we are making the best of a very bad situation," she said.

Councillor Jane Urquhart from Nottingham City Council said: "Rather than having a series of small closures that would change it seemed better to have a permanent arrangement that people could get used to."

She said the council had worked closely with retailers and had created new parking spaces nearby to try to help with the situation.