Spon End roadworks hurting business, Coventry traders say

Traders in Coventry claim passing trade is being "ruined" by long-running roadworks to cut congestion.

They began in Spon End in March 2022 and should have finished in April.

Fran Shone, landlady of the Old Dyers Arms, said she was losing thousands of pounds every month.

Coventry City Council said if it had not carried out the work it would have been forced to introduce a clean air zone, covering an area affecting 82,000 residents.

It promised better traffic flow as a result of the work but some traders said they feared their businesses would not survive the delays.

Ms Shone told BBC CWR the roadworks were costing her at least £700 every Friday through a loss in trade.

"There's people that used to go to the chippy, come over the road and sit outside the pub and have their chips while they have a pint. Its just none existent because there's no parking" she said.

Kevin Thompson, of Kev's Chop Shop barbers, said he too was badly affected.

"People used to pass by, pull up, come in for a hair cut and then go," he said.

Since losing parking spaces and with the barriers outside, he said people had stopped walking past.

"There's been no liaison at all - just a letter saying this is going to happen. The only way we found out things was to ask the actual workers.

"We can't plan anything. All we can do is open the door and wait."

The scheme was hit with delays due to issues with utilities and no end date has been specified.

Councillor Jim O'Boyle, cabinet member for jobs and regeneration, said: "These businesses would be far worse off if we'd done the alternative.

"I think we've shown the way not only in Coventry but around the country. With all the controversy at the moment in London, I think people can see actually charging people isn't always the answer to sorting out our green problems."

At the start of August, new traffic signals were switched on at junction seven of the city's ring road and the council said it would monitor their performance to make them work "as efficiently as possible."

A slip road which was part of the scheme opened in May and at that stage the council said it hoped to have work on the Butts and Spon End complete by the end of July.

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