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Dartford shop says council's 6 month-long roadworks are forcing them to close
KentOnline / KMTV
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05/09/2024
The works are part of Dartford's regeneration scheme, which aims to increase accessibility to the town centre.
Finn Macdiarmid reports.
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News
Transcript
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00:00
Many people in Dartford believe their high street needs change
00:03
and the Borough Council responded to that with their rejuvenation scheme
00:06
which aims to improve junctions, pedestrian crossings to the station
00:09
and bus journeys. In doing so however, they may have hurt local businesses' profits.
00:15
The morning trade has almost vanished because the lorries are having problems coming down
00:20
and then there's no room for them to turn around.
00:21
So rather than have the hassle,
00:24
they're obviously going elsewhere. So that's mega impacted.
00:30
And because they've now restricted parking along here, which was going to happen,
00:34
it's made it even worse. So it's now becoming more evident that
00:39
it's not sustainable if it carries on like this. So I reckon I'll be closed by the end of the year.
00:44
Allison's Pantry is a small cafe that also sells art,
00:47
knick-knacks and other goods from local vendors and its location to the Spittle Street junction
00:52
used to be a selling point but now customer parking, deliveries and even
00:56
regular customers
00:57
will all be affected. The roadworks are set to last for 23 weeks,
01:01
meaning that in cases where businesses need to be prepared to spend money in advance,
01:05
such as renewing a lease or buying stock in bulk, they may have to weigh up costs
01:10
and choose where to cut them. Just two minutes down the street, a bicycle shop
01:13
called Cycle King
01:15
are also having some issues with the scheme.
01:17
So our deliveries on Fridays have been affected.
01:20
Basically the truck driver can't park up outside, which obviously
01:24
affects us because then we have to either park him right up the top or a bit further down
01:28
and then obviously we've got to drag bikes off the truck which then means dragging them up the road and into the place.
01:34
While these businesses are struggling with the roadworks, they say it's the communication,
01:38
or lack thereof, that makes it all the more difficult. While some have received
01:42
letters telling them of the oncoming changes to the junction,
01:45
others who wish to remain anonymous told us they received no correspondence at all.
01:49
In a statement, Dartford Council's leader Jeremy Kite
01:52
stated that that's the whole period of work, so not everything will be closed and interrupted
01:57
for that whole period. Roadworks are never particularly welcome but we will
02:00
try to get them done as quickly as possible.
02:03
While the time frame of the roadworks will provide a harsh ultimatum for local
02:06
businesses,
02:07
with some, like Allison's Pantry, having to fully close,
02:10
some may argue it's just the price of improvement.
02:13
Finn McDermid for KMTV in Dartford.
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