Dartford shop says council's 6 month-long roadworks are forcing them to close

The works are part of Dartford's regeneration scheme, which aims to increase accessibility to the town centre.  Finn Macdiarmid reports.

Transcript

00:00Many people in Dartford believe their high street needs change

00:03and the Borough Council responded to that with their rejuvenation scheme

00:06which aims to improve junctions, pedestrian crossings to the station

00:09and bus journeys. In doing so however, they may have hurt local businesses' profits.

00:15The morning trade has almost vanished because the lorries are having problems coming down

00:20and then there's no room for them to turn around.

00:21So rather than have the hassle,

00:24they're obviously going elsewhere. So that's mega impacted.

00:30And because they've now restricted parking along here, which was going to happen,

00:34it's made it even worse. So it's now becoming more evident that

00:39it's not sustainable if it carries on like this. So I reckon I'll be closed by the end of the year.

00:44Allison's Pantry is a small cafe that also sells art,

00:47knick-knacks and other goods from local vendors and its location to the Spittle Street junction

00:52used to be a selling point but now customer parking, deliveries and even

00:56regular customers

00:57will all be affected. The roadworks are set to last for 23 weeks,

01:01meaning that in cases where businesses need to be prepared to spend money in advance,

01:05such as renewing a lease or buying stock in bulk, they may have to weigh up costs

01:10and choose where to cut them. Just two minutes down the street, a bicycle shop

01:13called Cycle King

01:15are also having some issues with the scheme.

01:17So our deliveries on Fridays have been affected.

01:20Basically the truck driver can't park up outside, which obviously

01:24affects us because then we have to either park him right up the top or a bit further down

01:28and then obviously we've got to drag bikes off the truck which then means dragging them up the road and into the place.

01:34While these businesses are struggling with the roadworks, they say it's the communication,

01:38or lack thereof, that makes it all the more difficult. While some have received

01:42letters telling them of the oncoming changes to the junction,

01:45others who wish to remain anonymous told us they received no correspondence at all.

01:49In a statement, Dartford Council's leader Jeremy Kite

01:52stated that that's the whole period of work, so not everything will be closed and interrupted

01:57for that whole period. Roadworks are never particularly welcome but we will

02:00try to get them done as quickly as possible.

02:03While the time frame of the roadworks will provide a harsh ultimatum for local

02:06businesses,

02:07with some, like Allison's Pantry, having to fully close,

02:10some may argue it's just the price of improvement.

02:13Finn McDermid for KMTV in Dartford.