Mounting concern from local businesses over the closure of Heathfield High Street in November

The work, which is expected to start on November 2, will take four weeks to complete and has been split into phases to minimise disruption. The first three phases will involve the road being reconstructed and surfaced, while phase four will be a surface treatment repair to the footway. A total of 19 streetlights will also be replaced during the work.

Cllr Nick Bennett, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for transport and environment, said: “Disruption is inevitable with a scheme of this size but we have tried to minimise this by carrying out the work in phases. By doing this we can make sure residents and visitors to the High Street continue to have access and businesses can remain open as usual.”

He added: “We appreciate that there may be concerns about the timing of these works and we want to assure residents and businesses that they will be completed before the busy festive period begins.”

Despite these reassurances, many businesses remain concerned about the impact on the High Street with many feeling desperate about the impact on their revenue and some talking of gross incompetence and disregard for people’s livelihoods. They go as far as suggesting that we might see businesses failing as a result of the timing of these works.

Miles Ingram, Tinker & Toad, explained: ” March would have been a much better date. Earlier consultation seems to have been ignored and this has been sprung on us. Lots of our customers come from out of town and they just won’t pop into Heathfield if coming here is made difficult. Not just us, but plenty of other businesses will suffer too. In these precarious times it could be enough to finish off some traders. Any other month would have been better.”

“We do 25% of our yearly turnover in the six weeks before Christmas. The impact on our business could be devastating. We sell a lot of perishable, seasonal goods which can’t be sold at other times of the year. We don’t feel overly reassured by East Sussex Highways liaison who visited us recently and we are angry that we have been given very little advanced warning. We are looking at opening late and offering a delivery service to help combat the distruption,” James McNab who runs Cuculo Deli said.

“We live above the shop and bake on the premises. We have been advised that we may not be able to get in or out of our business for long periods of time, and parking elsewhere isn’t an option after last time when our cars were vandalised. Times are tough enough at the moment but something like this could serious reduce our trade by 50% and with the long-term impact if people just get out of the habit of coming here for fresh bread. We won’t know how much to produce and risk having wastage on a daily basis. The timing for this is my main gripe, November and the risk of the works running over into December,” said a spokesperson for Patisserie Valentin.

Rachel Drinkwater of Wanted on Voyage pointed out: ” We didn’t have a choice – the road is awful and needs to be done. East Sussex Highways have reassured us that they will do all they can help businesses but I am still concerned. Not having access to the back of our business will be a problem and I am also concerned that some car parks in Heathfield have time limits so parking for people working in the town will be a problem unless restrictions are suspended.”

“The inconvenience will be massive for the disabled, elderly, and mums with young children and also for our deliveries and collections. We will probably have lots of people late for their appointments or missing them altogether. It will cost us more in time and texts to let people know about the disruption so they are NOT late, but this is difficult to evaluate in monetary terms as we haven’t experienced this kind of road closure before – the impact is unknown,” commented a staff member from Melina Joy, Optician

It isn’t just businesses on the High Street that are concerned. We also spoke to Leanne Potts, owner of Cuckoo Hair, next to Sainsbury’s: “I heard that only High Street businesses are invited to a closed meeting on Monday. That’s such a shame as it’s going to affect all businesses in Heathfield as well as the majority of residents. I know we are certainly dreading it. November is such a busy time with people getting ready for the festive season.”

The Heathfield Partnership is holding a closed meeting on Monday at 6.30pm at State Hall for businesses on the High Street. East Sussex Highway and council members will be attending to answer questions

We will be following this story and keeping our readers updated on how the road works are impacting on the town. Most importantly, we want the people of Heathfield to know that businesses will be open throughout these difficult trading conditions and traders will be doing their best to serve you. So please show your support, by continuing to shop local, even if it is a bit inconvenient and involves parking and walking. Heathfield is lucky to have such a range of independent shops, it would be a tragedy if these roadworks caused any business to go under.

Map of phases of roadworks taking place on Heathfield High St