"Disastrous" road closure faces legal threat from borough

12.00.00am GMT Tue 8th Apr 2008

Eastleigh Borough Council leader Keith House said today that the county council's proposed five month closure of Southampton Road could be so "disastrous" that the borough may have to take legal action to force a review of their decision.

Speaking at a packed meeting of the Eastleigh town centre partnership representing local businesses, Mr House said: "The borough council has to act in the best interests of the town and its businesses. Trade in the run-up to Christmas is crucial for many retailers already hit by the slowdown in the economy. Southampton Road must be open from the October half-term onwards to Christmas."

The county proposes that Southampton Road would be shut for resurfacing from the beginning of July to the end of November, a plan that has caused consternation among traders as the busiest time of the year is from mid-October to Christmas.

Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne told the meeting that the county could not close Eastleigh for Christmas. It did not seem to have taken into account the impact on local businesses or residents, or the key nature of the Southampton Road as the main artery between Eastleigh and Southampton.

He warned that the closure could prove to be the "death-knell" for many small businesses which have already been badly affected by the economic downturn and the building work for the new cinema which has cut car parking space. "There are also worries about access to Southampton Airport Parkway from Eastleigh, as that is where the fast trains to and from London stop".

Dee Buffone, the manager of the Swan centre, told the meeting that he was concerned at the length of time of the work and the method. "At the latest this work has to finish by the end of October whatever point they are then at, and then they can start from mid-January onwards. The work has to be coordinated if we are to have a viable Christmas".

Options mooted by the participants included weekend working, and a split in the road so that it was never closed entirely but was open to single file traffic, and patching up the surface until the Chickenhall Lane link road is built.

Charles Sims of Kingfisher china and glass said that alternative routes were likely to be very busy indeed given that they are already congested at rush hour. He said: "I don't understand why Southampton Road has to be closed, and no-one has explained that to me".

Simon Church, the manager of Sainsbury's, said: "We have invested a lot of money in a site that was going to close with the loss of 150 jobs, and now this is going to have a negative impact on trading".

Gillian Davis of the Oxfam bookshop in Eastleigh High Street said: "Why not wait until the Chickenhall Lane link road has been built and traffic could be diverted away from Southampton Road? It would make sense".