Shoppers critical of the amount of roadworks in city
SUGGESTION WORK COULD HAVE BEEN DONE DURING LOCKDOWN
SHOPPERS have criticised the large amount of roadworks around Leicester city centre as it starts to emerge from lockdown.
On Monday, non-essential shops were allowed to open again, as well as pubs, bars and restaurants for outdoor drinking and dining.
However, people returning to the city centre after the latest stage of the government’s roadmap out of Covid-19 restrictions have told the Mercury they were disappointed to see so much disruption going on in key shopping areas.
The area around the Clock Tower and High Street is still part way through being repaved and there is major work going on around Horsefair Street and the market.
John Lawrie, 54, from Aylestone, said: “Nothing says welcome back to shoppers than loads of dug up streets.
“It just makes it hard to get around and, in places, socially-distance, given how busy it is with us all coming back.
“I know stuff like this doesn’t get sorted out overnight but you’d think the council would have taken advantage of lockdown to get more done sooner.”
Anindita Chouhan, 21, from Rushey Mead, said: “It feels a bit endless, doesn’t it?
“I’m a pretty determined shopper so I wouldn’t let it put me off but there will be people who see it and think it’s not worth the hassle of getting around town.”
Tony Pegg, 60, from Stocking Farm, said: “The council knew the date the city centre would be reopening yet everywhere you look, it’s cones and diggers.
“It might have made sense to suspend the roadworks like they do at Christmas time to give the shops a chance to get back on their feet.”
Leicester City Council said it had used the quieter period of lockdown to accelerate some longterm work and that the improvements would benefit all businesses in the long-term.
A city council spokesman said: “These works reflect a £25 million investment in the city centre, financed by a combination of successful grant bids and council funding.
“A number of these schemes are long-term projects which aren’t due for completion until later this year or beyond, but we have accelerated work on them during the lockdown periods, in order to take advantage of working with fewer people and less traffic around, for example at the Clock Tower and Haymarket. “Some projects are funded through time-limited external grants, such as the European Regional Development Fund, in the case of Pocklingtons Walk, Market Place South and Horsefair Street, or the government’s Getting Building Fund in the case of St Margaret’s bus station. “Funding conditions require that the work is carried out within a certain timeframe. “Major work at the Burleys Flyover was able to be completed successfully last month during lockdown, as planned.
“The projects that are continuing are being planned carefully to minimise disruption to shoppers now that city centre businesses are beginning to reopen.”
The projects that are continuing are being planned carefully to minimise disruption to shoppers
Council