Burton businesses are suffering due to the closure of the bridge with some even forced to consider laying staff off as the work moves into its fifth week.
A meeting was hosted by Burton and District Chamber of Commerce organised to allow businesses to come together to have their say, with their issues during the work to repair St Peter's Bridge to be passed on the Staffordshire County Council which is undertaking the work as the highways authority.
At least 30 independent businesses from across Burton were represented at the meeting which heard many firms may not be here at Christmas as more and more shoppers stay away from town due to traffic concerns.
The bridge closed on Tuesday, August 29, and is not due to open until the end of November. Firms, including town centre traders and taxis companies as well as bus firms, say customers are just staying away because they are fed up with the long tailbacks caused by the closure of the main route in and out of Burton.
The bridge is closed while rusted bearings are replaced as part of of a £6.1 million scheme. If this does not happen, then a weight limit would have to be introduced on the bridge. A second phase of the project will see repairs to Burton Bridge, which would be closed.
This is due to take place next year and there are concerns that the traffic nightmare will continue when this work starts
News that the county council refused a cash offer from East Staffordshire Borough Council to speed up repairs that the borough council had hoped would get the route opened sooner has sparked fury among firms.
The county council said the cash would not speed up the work as staff were going as quickly as possible on what was a complex engineering job.
It has also said that 24-hour working was not feasible either given the nature of the work being done. A spokesman for the county council did say, however, that some additional work would be carried on Sundays.
Chris Else, vice chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, chaired the meeting at Burton and South Derbyshire College, and said: "I don’t know if there are any solutions or realistic avenues for compensation but it is important that the county council raise awareness and it is important for local businesses to support each other’s business. If we are not going to use it we are going to lose it."
Many firms asked why there had been no advertising to tell people that the town was still open? They added that traffic in the town was fine from 9.30am to 3pm so shoppers could visit.
A spokesman for disabled scooter firm Premier Mobility, based in Burton’s Market Place, said: "We have had a massive downturn. The first week it was not too bad. People tried it and said we are not coming again. It is hitting us quite hard where we will have to lay staff off.
The history of St Peter's Bridge and crossing the River Trent
"We need action. We need help now. Anything that anyone can come up with right now - because smaller businesses are not going to survive. We need to get some advertising out there. We need to tell people 'bear with us, change your shopping pattern' or without this, businesses won’t be here for Christmas."
It was asked if bus companies could reduce prices during the closure. Representatives from Trent Barton, Sharon Bailey and Aaron Taylor said they were going through similar struggles due to the work and asked who would compensate them and refund the extra mileage?
Peter Hardingham, manager of The Octagon shopping centre, said: "It is not for businesses to pick up the tab if something is not their fault."
The county council recently announced it would be creating extra shifts during the work, with Mr Hardingham saying: "To say they should put in extra shifts. They should have thought about that in the first place. They seem to be drip-feeding what seems to be good news."
James Weeks, owner of The Dial, in Station Street, claimed a meeting between himself and a county council chief had been cancelled twice. He said: "The county council needs to speed things up without sending a message that Burton is closed."
Tory MP Andrew Griffiths who helped secure the £6.1 million funds for the bridge work also attended the meeting, agreeing mistakes had been made.
He said: "The county council needs to understand the impact. I have written to John Henderson (county council chief executive) and I urge people to do the same so they understand what is happening in the town.
"I don’t think this is deliberate. They are trying to get this work done. But it is important that they understand the impact it is having and look at every available option to them.
"I have no doubt that it was a cock-up rather than a conspiracy. I have no doubt they have learnt a lesson from this. The county council responds to the challenges but it doesn't mean they cannot adapt, and put in extra resources to make sure work is completed as quickly as possible.
"If you work through the nights and Sundays that will take days off. Anyway they can reduce it, would be a real bonus."
Many firms also queried why free parking cannot be made more available. The county council's on-street parking bays are currently free, and there were suggestions that a park and ride scheme was set up to allow drivers to park in Stapenhill and ride over the bridge. However, there were no suggestions as to where they could park.
Meanwhile, other shopkeepers said if there was to be free parking it would have to be limited to two to three hours to allow shoppers to come and go.
Here's what businesses had to say:
The Burton Mail record many of the comments from traders: Here is some other things which were raised:
Octagon Centre manager Peter Hardingham said: "We've found there is significantly fewer people visiting and those who do visit are staying for a shorter period of time, a get in and get out as soon as possible. My concern is who will pay for promotion of the town but it is absolutely critical that there is one. Does the county council have funds to support that damage repairing?"
Richard Grosvenor, leader of East Staffordshire Borough Council said: "We have had a loss of trade at the leisure centre, as well as a lot of car parking incomes but also the borough council has been suffering because businesses in our area are crying out for help because the bridge is closed.
"The funding (for the bridge) was immediate. it urgently needed repairing, and the funding given was given quickly but an application for that funding was made months before that so my concern is you would have thought plans would be put in place to deal with the closure.
"My concern is those plans weren't put in place. We have had much feedback from businesses and residents who are concerned about Burton town centre. We are trying to work with the county council to regenerate the town centre. We understand it needs regeneration and then you get the bridge closure putting all that at risk effectively.
"We asked how much money you need to bring the bridge open earlier and give everyone a Christmas present? And can you reconsider closing the old bridge because if that closes after Christmas and business haven’t had a chance to recover and the second bridge closes then you might as well close a lot of business in Burton, as far as I am concerned.
"For whatever reason they said they cannot accelerate the work and they suggested we look at a 'promote Burton event'. There needs to be some activity now because the bridge is closed now. Pressure needs to be put on the county council. Contact John Henderson and your county council representatives."
Simon Chapman, president of the Chamber of Commerce and managing director of Yee Group, in Burton, said: "The plan is unacceptable and should have been started two months prior (to the closure). The closure needs scheduling for the least impact on the town.
"We need to plan for the town and town's movements. There needs to be a survey with regards to what we can do for vehicle movements around the town, whether that is a one-way etc.
"We need to make sure we learn from this horrendous problem that we have and we actually minimise the impact of any future work on businesses, and employees – the poor people who work for those businesses.
"I don't know about a park and ride: I don’t know how we find the space, but we can talk to our local businesses and ask can you help us? Do you have a large car park?
"The county council is not meeting with due care and best interests of town it is representing. It is having an effect on so many people and we need to hammer that message home."
After the meeting:
After the meeting, Simon Chapman, president of the Chamber said: "We have a fabulous town and it is really important that we are part of Staffordshire. We are really proud to be part of Staffordshire. Our county council is not showing us any reason that we are considered to be identified as part of Staffordshire."
Mr Weeks, from The Dial bar and restaurant, said the situation called for someone at the county council to resign, adding that there had been no consultation and claiming the authority had just give a 'knee-jerk reaction' to the work.
He said: "They have just gone out and done it without any consultation. I have had a business here for 15 years and it is the biggest commercial blunder I have ever seen.
"No wonder it will take three months if they have just given a knee-jerk reaction to the money. Heads should roll for this and someone needs to resign. The bridge is one of the main arteries to the town centre's beating heart. The Dial has been very lucky as we have lunchtime and night time trade.
"They need to get that bridge finished earlier than the end of November. They took that pot of money and without any consideration for the impact. There was no consultation. The meeting we had on Thursday should have been held by the council at the start of the closure. This has frustrated the life out of me. They underestimated the impact.
"The important thing now is to get something done about it and speed it all up and get this town back on its feet.
"It is commercial suicide. They said if the repairs didn't go ahead they would have to put a weight restriction on the bridge, so put it on until you have a plan and send all the lorries down the A50."
Staffordshire County Council had this to say:
A representative from the county council did not attend the meeting. The authority later told the Burton Mail it had simply received a flyer sent to its generic email inbox which was not an invitation about the meeting.
In answer to many of the points made, Staffordshire County Council leader Philip Atkins said: "While these complex repair works to St Peter’s Bridge are vital to the long-term prosperity of Burton and unavoidable, we completely understand the difficulties they bring to residents and businesses and sympathise with them.
"We have to do these works as leaving the bridge would lead to permanent closure which would be devastating for the town.
"We are doing all we can to mitigate the disruption and will continue to explore ways to expedite the works wherever possible. We are ensuring there are no other planned roadworks in the town centre and this week, at the request of local businesses, we introduced free parking on our town centre bays.
"We have been working with bus operators, some of which have introduced additional services. We are also trying to ensure there are clear streets in the town centre by introducing temporary parking restrictions in Stapenhill Road and High Street. Civil enforcement officers are doing additional visits to these roads.
"We have already explained that round-the-clock working isn't feasible due to the complexity of the works, but as we move on to the resurfacing of the bridge Sunday working will be introduced.
"Finally we will be looking to run a campaign to promote Burton businesses as the bridge reopens in November and we will be inviting the borough council and other partners to work with us to make it a success."
The Burton Mail also put several other points to the county council which had been raised during the meeting:
Q: Why wasn't anyone from the county council at the meeting?
A: The council said a flyer for the event for businesses was sent to the general highways email inbox and it did not indicate that it was an invitation to the meeting.
Q: The county council has mentioned holding a business promotion festival at the end of the closure – why can't this be done now?
A: The council has said it would be happy to look at this and it wants to work with the Chamber of Commerce to see if it is possible.
Q: When Burton Bridge closes – traders claim this will be worse as it is a four-lane bridge. Why can't two lanes be shut at a time so traffic can still get through?
A: The council has said that details on the Burton Bridge works are still to be finalised and will be revealed shortly.
Q: Why doesn't the council put on a park and ride scheme for people to park for free and then get over the bridge?
A: The council has supported bus companies to put on additional services.
Q: The council is only now putting on extra shifts for their workers – this should have been thought of right at the start.
A: The council has said that extra shifts and Sundays can only begin after the waterproofing work. In addition to weekday daytime working, some evening, night and weekend working will take place, particularly during some of the specialist operations.
Get in touch
Traders have been urged to get in touch with the council to tell them the impact it is having on them
There is a dedicated email address which is being set up and is live from next week. This is burtonbridges@staffordshire.gov.uk
Q: John Henderson has cancelled a meeting with James Weeks from The Dial.
A: The council says Mr Henderson was unable to attend one meeting organised by East Staffordshire Borough Council but has personally updated him by email several times. The council said it also introduced free on-street parking at Mr Weeks' suggestion.
Q: It is important the council understands the impact it is having and to look at the options available to them – this includes reopening High Street.
A: The council has said the High Street restrictions will need to remain in place for pedestrian safety and to support public transport.
Q: Why can't one lane be open on the bridge while work takes place?
There are a number of reasons why the work cannot be undertaken on one lane at a time. Firstly, the size of equipment being used on the bridge would not allow for safe passage of traffic.
A: In addition, the deck of the bridge has to be cleared, concrete repairs carried out and the surface then kept clean in order for waterproofing to be carried out. Passing vehicles could cause dust to settle on the treated surface. To ensure we are not weather dependant, which could add to the duration of the works, the desk width will be covered by a working 'tent' that can be moved along the deck in sections and ensure the surface is kept clean, not affected by wet weather and in which the temperature can be controlled.
