Sandbanks businesses brace for severe disruption to trade as roadworks move one of the busiest roads in the area.
Work to repair potholes and resurface Panorama Road started on Monday as part of a long-anticipated council project that is set to run for four weeks.
Business owners on Panorama Road are worried work could cause serious damage to trade. Panorama Bay Motor Company is only metres away from the next stages of the four-phase work which began near Ferry Way. Owner Gary Davis fears the worst: “In a few weeks I will be forced to close my business, it’s that bad… they will close off the road.”
Some businesses say they lodged complaints with Poole Borough Council. “There is nothing you can do. Nobody listens,” Davis says. “You should get a rebate for income lost and the work should be done at night.”
Poole Borough Council’s Engineering Manager John Rice says the right steps were taken to prepare people for work: “We organised access, we timed the work to coincide with the work on the chain ferry… it’s a four week thing, we’re only in the first week…. we’ve informed people and businesses and given full access.”
Residents have lobbied Poole Borough Council for years to get the road repaired. Sandbanks Residents Association Chairman Ken Sampson says the work had to be done: “We’ve been trying to get it done for ages. The road is just bump bump bump. As people whizz down at 30 mph you really notice the bumps. We’ve been nagging Poole Council and finally tied them down.”
Sandbanks Store shopkeeper Karen Denham says the work has boosted trade: “For me personally it’s quite good…. The shop at the ferry has closed and I’m getting all the builders in.”
