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Traders’ festive gloom as roadworks go on and on
£7m High Road bridge project due to continue into New Year
INDEPENDENT traders fear ruin over Christmas after the Town Hall admitted that the £7-million project to replace Kilburn High Road bridge could overrun into next year.
Already running weeks beyond an original completion date in September, roadworks are now due to last another month, with construction of a walkway and pavement in front of shops and businesses continuing until the New Year, the New Journal can reveal.
Project coordinators Camden Council and Network Rail have blamed utility companies’ slow work replacing pipes and cables for the delay, but no compensation has been offered to shopkeepers who fear that continuing chaos on the High Road will kill the Christmas custom they are relying on to save a heavily disrupted trading year.
Steve Adams, whose shopfront at Kilburn Bookshop has been partially blocked for months by the work, said: “It is looking extremely bleak. This year has already undone 20 years of building up custom.
“Christmas is obviously our crucial trading period, but there is no end in sight, and we’ve already lost roughly 20 per cent of our turnover during the works period. For an independent bookshop, that means making a loss.”
Ramiz Gashi, manager of La Dolce Vita café, said traders had lost faith in announcements about the project’s progress.
He added: “We will know when it will be finished when it is finished. So far this year it has been very bad. We used to have seven staff here, now we only have three.”
His small bistro is one of a cluster of cafés, restaurants and independent shops refused compensation by the council and Network Rail when work to strip out the 150-year-old bridge and replace the highway was announced last year.
Mr Ali, the manager of Supersave said: “This has been a problem for a whole year now. I’m fed up. Business is down 40 or 50 per cent and the deliveries take four times as long.”
Mr Ali said the council had told him the works would be finished by next month.
A council press official said: “The carriageway should be complete by late November, opening the bridge to four lanes of traffic, with vehicles being able to make a right turn onto Belsize Road from Kilburn High Road.
“This will be immediately followed by all footway works. It is anticipated these works may run over the Christmas period.”
The official said the council had put pressure on utilities companies. She added: “In response to requests to speed up progress from Camden Council and Network Rail, BT has now finished works, with only Thames Water and EDF on site.
“We understand that traders will be concerned about works during this time. However, we are working to ensure the project is completed as early as possible. For traders on the bridge and down Belsize Road the No 31 bus will be returning to its usual route by the end of November, bringing shoppers back to their area.”
A spokeswoman for BT, blamed by traders for the long delays, said: “We always strive to work to any deadlines set. We will investigate these allegations made against us and talk to our contractors.” |
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