A hair and beauty salon owner says roadworks outside her shop in South East London have led to some customers cancelling their appointments.
Bola George, who owns Boltan Hair & Beauty Salon on Baring Road in Grove Park, says she is losing out on customers and has seen a drop in her takings because of the traffic chaos.
Thames Water has been carrying out emergency work to fix a leaking main pipe opposite Grove Park Station since last weekend, however engineers discovered a further failure at the same location and more essential works need to be carried out.
While Thames Water tries to resolve the issue, temporary four-way traffic lights have been implemented on Baring Road, between Downham Road and Pullman Mews.
According to one.network, the works are scheduled up until Monday, March 23, though a Lewisham Council spokesperson said they are awaiting confirmation of the expected completion date for the works.
The roadworks are reportedly causing traffic chaos in both directions on Baring Road, while the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands some buses are having to tail back along the road because it is taking them so long to turn around at Grove Park Bus Station and start their new route.
Bola told the LDRS: “Everyone is complaining, all the businesses are massively. People avoid coming here, some customers call and say, ‘Oh I’m not coming because I can’t be bothered with this traffic’ – in the last week or so, I’ve seen that margin already in my business.”
John Moriarty from Inkwithin Tattoo and Body Piercing, said the roadworks have caused some of his appointments to run late, but said the area has gone “downhill” and roadworks are the least of its problems.
John said: “I mean, I had one appointment yesterday that was half an hour late, it has like a snowball effect on the rest of the day.
“They do work around it all the time anyway. I mean, it’s annoying, but they’re never there for too long. You just get used to it really, there are a lot more problems around here other than the roadworks that are not going to be there for long.”
A staff member from DGN Tech & Vape said because of the traffic there are not as many people outside on the streets.
They said: “It’s just, you know, always any time if you’re trying to get there with the car it takes at least 10 minutes to get past the station. Every street around the area has traffic because you know everyone’s trying to get through the same junction and it’s just really busy there.”
A Transport for London (TfL) spokesperson said they were working with bus operators to manage the impact of the Thames Water works on the bus network.
They said: “Our 24/7 control centre continues to monitor the situation on the road and advise bus drivers of the best course of action to minimise delays.”
A Lewisham Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the recent traffic disruption around Grove Park Station and understand the frustration this has caused local residents and commuters.
“Thames Water carried out emergency works opposite the station over the weekend, but a further failure at the same location on [Wednesday] 18 March required engineers to return, which unfortunately led to significant congestion. We are awaiting confirmation of the expected completion date for these works.”
They added: “We continue to work closely with all utility companies to minimise disruption wherever possible and thank residents for their patience while these essential works are carried out.”
Thames Water said it was working with Lewisham Council to repair the leak.
A spokesperson said: “More information on this work can be found on our status page here: https://www.thameswater.co.uk/help/report-a-problem#/view-problems-map.”
