We look at the impact roadworks are having on the traders in Willenhall town centre.
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00:00Willanall, the home of the lock industry, was once also a thriving market town.
00:08But traders say they're now struggling due to a string of roadworks going on on the main road
00:16and also lack of proper amenities for shoppers to use, including toilets.
00:24The traders want to know what the authorities, the council and the transport authorities are doing
00:32to help them to get through this problem.
00:36It's the buses as well, people complaining.
00:39It's on the same bus stop, it's further down, they can't bother to walk down.
00:43They're finding it hard to come down.
00:45So they're finding it hard to get on the 529, which runs between Worsal and Wobounds.
00:49And also they want to go to Worsal Road, they can't get there.
00:54Worsal, you know, they're in the railway station, traffic, they're complaining about that.
00:59So they have to go all the way around because it's all one way.
01:02And it's made the business town really worse than what it was.
01:06It's quiet and it's gone more quiet.
01:09Can you just explain to us, now my understanding is that the traders have worked really hard
01:16to get some of the stalls back into Will and All and that picked up.
01:21So what's happened to the trade?
01:24What's happened to the stallholders since the road trip?
01:27The Will and All people don't come here because it's a town condition, you know.
01:30They need to get some toilets.
01:32There's no toilets here.
01:34And the shops really need to spend some more money into the town, yeah, to improve everything.
01:40There's too many charity shops and all that, you know, cafes and all that.
01:43Yeah, okay, yeah.
01:44Okay, so going back to the stallholders, how many are missing now since the road works on the main road?
01:51I think about five, six stalls are missing from here.
01:54Yeah, yeah.
01:55It used to be a lovely market one time, it used to be double market running.
01:58Yeah.
01:59Wednesdays or Fridays actually is worse here.
02:02Yeah, yeah.
02:03Okay, and then since the road works, have we seen less traders coming in?
02:08Yeah, less, yeah, less.
02:09Nobody comes here, especially the older people.
02:11Well, I have a customer, they are older.
02:12Yeah.
02:13I don't see anything all day, we don't do nothing, yeah.
02:15Right, so there's less customers, less shoppers, less footfall, and less traders coming in?
02:20Less traders, yeah.
02:20Coming in?
02:21Yeah, no taxis, there used to be loads of taxis and all used to come.
02:24Yeah.
02:24There's nothing coming in now.
02:26Right, okay.
02:27Yeah, okay.
02:28Does that affect you here at your shop?
02:29Yeah, my business has really gone half than what it was, you know, on the side.
02:33Okay.
02:33We are really struggling.
02:35They need to put the rights down because they're putting the rights up because we're not doing nothing,
02:38we can't afford nothing.
02:39Yeah, yeah, it's terrible, you know.
02:41Willow Hall's a lovely town.
02:43Yeah.
02:43Because people don't come here.
02:44Yeah.
02:45Yeah.
02:45So we're all good, yeah, you know, everybody works hard.
02:48Yeah.
02:49Yeah.
02:49But you're not seeing the benefits of it?
02:50No, no, it's hard, very hard.
02:52It's boring, it's drugs all day.
02:54Yeah.
02:54We're trying hard to get all the stock and everything, but people don't come.
02:57We're trying hard to get.