STOURPORT businesses on Lombard Street have been complaining about a loss of trade due to the top of the road being blocked off to vehicles.

A small stretch of the road, toward High Street, has been closed to vehicles since last Monday while scaffolding for roofing work on one of the road's premises was installed, but access can still be made by pedestrians and vehicles entering from Worcester Street.

Several shop owners from Lombard Street businesses said their profits have taken a hit due to the road closed signs, even though access can still be made to all shops.

They also claim that they were not given prior warning to the road being closed before work began.

A council spokesman said the road had been closed for safety reasons but inspectors were continuing to assess the situation. She added that signs were placed on the street prior to work starting.

George Makry, owner of Pat’s Fish and Chips, said: “I’ve personally lost about £1,000 in the last week and it’s unsustainable.

“If the work continues for another few weeks, it will be about £3,500 of turnover gone - we’re basically losing our profits.

“I have called the council and they said nothing can be done to reimburse any of the businesses for their lost trade, so it will be nigh on impossible to get anything back.”

The owner’s claim they received no prior warning to the road being closed and were even told on Monday that the road would be re-opened that evening - which it was not.

Mr Makry said: “It’s disappointing from the highways that there was no contact with the shops themselves to tell us that this work would be carried out and part of the road would be closed.

“There is no reason for the top of the road to still be closed as there is netting around the scaffolding and it is not even on the road to cause danger.”

Mr Makry and Clare Shire-Jones, the owner of Clarabellas, both claim the signs which have been put in place are confusing to the public.

Mrs Shire-Jones said: “It’s an absolute debacle. People see the road closed sign from High Street so avoid the road completely, even though all the shops are still open. It’s ridiculous.”

The application for the road closure was made by the owner of the building being worked on and is due to expire on October 20.

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: "The County Council is aware of the concerns around the road closure in Lombard Street.

"Our highways inspector has visited site regularly but has been unable to reopen the road due to safety reasons as the scaffolding is on a corner and close to the edge of the road.

"To help businesses and local residents access Lombard Street by vehicle the one-way restriction has been rescinded and will remain in place until the road is reopened."