Closing the main shopping streets in Bo’ness town centre has been another blow for businesses who are already struggling, a local councillor says.
Conservative Lynn Munro says many local firms did not know that South Street, Market Street and Hope Street would be closed to traffic for a week, while resurfacing work was done on South Street.
And she has questioned why the work, which started on Monday, needed to be done now, when the recovery from the pandemic is still very fragile.
Falkirk Council insisted people were informed about the closures, and said the work would bring improvements to the area.
But Mrs Munro said: “It is clear that many businesses did not even get a letter about this.
“It’s awful the way that the whole area is affected – is there no way that it could have been done in stages, to lessen the impact?”
Several business owners in Bo’ness agreed that they had not known in advance about the closure.
And for many, the work meant a very quiet week just when trade should have been starting to pick up.
Mrs Munro says the road closure could not have come at a worse time, as the town centre is already struggling with the loss of its post office and three banks, which have all affected footfall.
When the local Conservative party recently conducted a survey asking residents how they felt about the situation, the answers revealed that many people feel there is now no reason to go to Bo’ness town centre.
Mrs Munro believes much more could be done to help the struggling town and the road closure, she says, is another example of the council not communicating well enough with local people.
However, Falkirk Council is adamant the people were informed that the work would take place.
A spokesperson said: “Letters were issued in advance to local businesses/properties affected by the resurfacing works.
“Signage reminding visitors/residents that shops etc were open as usual were placed at the site.
“Unfortunately, there is always going to be some amount of inconvenience, but we generally find that the public understand the need for the need for the safety of our workforce and the benefits brought about by improvements to the road surface.
“When planning repairs, we aim to reduce disruption as far as possible, however, these works have to be carried out.”
The work is due to finish at 5pm on Sunday.
