Retailers claim losses of up to 50% owing to roadworks

Retailers claim losses of up to 50% owing to roadworks

Retailers criticised the Infrastructure Department for displaying misleading diversion signs, as well as failing to put up any ‘businesses open as usual signs’ until specifically asked to do so.

Part-time restrictions were put in place from 14 January until today, while the road – which stretches from the junction with La Marquanderie to a few metres ahead of Rue Carrée, close to the site of the new Les Quennevais School – was resurfaced.

During the closure, motorists had to drive via the Five Mile Road, Route Orange and Mont à la Brune or via Route de Francfief, Route de La Haule and Route des Genêts, to access the precinct.

While the consensus among retailers in the precinct was that the £474,000 project was necessary and well-timed, a number of business owners said that the diversion signage was ‘appalling’ which they believe caused them considerable losses in sales.

The average reported loss in sales ranged from 20 to 25%, with two businesses claiming up to 50% in losses on the days when the road was closed.

Fabiano Martins, who manages The Bean Café, said that the eatery had lost more than half of its normal revenue, which he attributed to motorists being diverted to the Five Mile Road without effective signposting on how to reach the precinct.

Paula Shield, owner of Jersey Schools and Sports Kit, said that while she also supported the timing of the roadworks, her sales had been hit.

She said: ‘I can’t fault the timing of the project and I think that they did a good job but the first two weeks were quite hard.

‘The signs which were initially installed by DFI were very misleading, as they placed diversion signs at both ends of the La Route des Quennevais without guiding anyone back here.

‘We had to ask them to put up “business as usual” signs, but in saying that, when we asked, they put them up within a couple of days.’

However, Andy Horsfall, the owner of Bicycle Workshop Ltd, said that his sales suffered more than a 50% loss, adding that in his view the mishandling of the diversion signs played a large part.

‘The way in which they [DFI] handled the signage was pretty appalling.

‘I would have expected that they would have prioritised mitigating any disruption to the businesses here but they didn’t at all. The last few weeks have been the least profitable since the shop opened three years ago. They didn’t even put up any business as usual signs until they were contacted a number of times and actually had to be persuaded to do it.’

Ron Allen, owner of The Party Shop Cards 4U, also said that more should have been done to protect the businesses in the area.

‘The first two weeks were the worst and things slowly got better after that. But most of the retailers agree that the signs, and where they were placed, were terribly mismanaged. They seemed to be needlessly confusing and actually drove people away instead of making it clear how to get here.’

In a response to the claims, a spokeswoman from the Department for Infrastructure said: ‘We are sorry for the disruption that the retailers felt the roadworks caused.

‘The objective of the diversions was to get motorists around the closed road in the safest way possible.

‘The signs directed motorists around the chosen route. Business as usual signs were provided and additional communications were undertaken taking into account business requirements.’

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