Athboy shopowners frustrated by planned new street closure

Business people in Athboy, including a number of shopowners, claim that they are now "under siege" because of ongoing roadworks being carried out in various parts of the town. They also claim that jobs could be lost if proposed plans to close off Connaught Street in the town goes ahead early in 2010. The shopowners say that because the roadworks have been taking place on an ongoing basis for up to two years now, their trade has been undermined with shoppers reluctant to go into the town because of disruptions and the delays. It has been claimed that two firms have already been forced to close because of the roadworks. Most of the work to date is part of a programme to upgrade the town's sewerage system. However, the proposed closure of Connaught Street has, according to Meath County Council, nothing to do with the sewerage works but instead is part of the "rehabilitation of the street". One of those affected by the ongoing work is James Bird who runs a supermarket on Main Street. He also has a convenience store on Connaught Street and says that the jobs of 12 people could be lost at that outlet if the council pushes ahead with its plans to carry out further work on the street. The owners of a number of other outlets on the street say they may will have to close down while the work is being carried out and this could force them to go out of business. They are annoyed they only found out about the proposed closure from a man who was working on the street in a casual conversation rather than through any official communications. "We're just in the dark, we don't know what's going on, the contractors seem to be allowed to do whatever they wish. You could go down the town one day and there's no traffic lights and you could go down the next day traffic lights could be in place. It's the haphazard nature of it all, there's no information coming to us. No communication is what people have the problem with," said Mr Bird. The Athboy businessman says he was told by a council official last Friday that Connaught Street would be closed for six weeks from 11th January but, at the time of writing, he had received no further details or official confirmation. "We don't know if the street is going to be completely closed, is there going to be pedestrian access, is it going to one-way traffic, what is it? There's no traffic management plan put in place at this stage and we're waiting to hear back from the county council official on that," he said yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. "It is a real concern if this goes ahead; people literally won't be able to get into us in our outlet on Connaught Street and we won't be able to take in any deliveries and we have 12 people employed up there," he added. According to the council, an application to close Connaught Street has been received and this is currently under consideration. "An application has been received from the contractor as regards the closure and it's currently being assessed and considered by the council," said a spokesperson, who added that any proposed road closure notice would be made available in the local press, according with "statutory obligations". Mr Bird said the business community in the town have had to endure sustained disruption for the past year and the latest closure would result in further inconvenience for owners and shoppers. Other local businesspeople who fear their business will be seriously undermined by any prolonged closure of Connaught Street include Billy Foley and Eamonn Mahon of BMF Autoparts and Breda Hayes of the Washboard Laundry Service. "It's a disgrace. There's a big downturn in business over the past couple of months. This is Christmas week and we have no business, between the recession and whatever but the roadworks certainly didn't help," said Ms Hayes. "The roadworks is ongoing and yesterday there was a hole outside our front door. You just don't know what you are going to find. This is the third Christmas it's been affecting us," she said. "Two businesses have already closed in the town because of the disruption and six weeks always goes into three months, as far as I can see. If Connaught Street is closed for six weeks or more, it will put us out of business, absolutely. A lot of people coming into dry cleaning outlets are carrying big bags, they need to drive. It's not easy for people," she added.