Hull Road closure in York slammed by business owners

Parts of Hull Road and Lawrence Street will be closed overnight on weekdays for highway resurfacing between 7pm and 3am.

The works started last night (Friday, September 15) and will continue until Monday, September 25.

But food businesses in the area say the closures will mean customers and delivery drivers won't be able to reach their shops.

A council notice dated September 1 on a Lawrence Street lamppost notifies of diversions via Hull Road, the A64, Selby Road, Main Street Fulford, Fulford Road, Cemetery Road and Barbican Road.

It also says that vehicles are prohibted from proceeding and waiting inside parts of the area of the road works.

Bamboo thai and The Bluefin Fish & Chips, takeaways near the work boundaries at Siward Street and Landsdowne Terrace, will be open as usual during the work.

A council notification of September 1 highlights two elements to the works (Image: Kevin Glenton)

Bamboo thai owner Alex Keogh said he only found out about the council plans from Ravinder Singh, owner of The Bluefin.

Ravinder shared with him a letter from the council which he said offered businesses and residents an opportunity to vote on the time the roads should close each night – either 7pm or 9pm.

Alex said he did not receive the letter and Ravinder said two other businesses in the area hadn't either.

The Press was shown an advisory letter from the council to Alex dated September 8 which splits the work into two sections, and advises on bus diversions and street parking suspensions.

He said: “I’ve been given a week’s notice and I don’t think I got the letter on that day (September 8).

“If my turnover drops by half, I lose a lot of money.”

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Alex pays his staff over the period of his annual holiday when the restaurant is closed and said he would have shifted the closure to coincide with the works if he had been given more notice.

Ravinder said: “The council have no consideration for anybody but themselves.

“I just want to know why we can’t basically push the times on to nine o’clock when the shops are shut so it doesn’t affect trade as much.

“It doesn’t take long for people to go somewhere else when they can’t get to you.”

Notification of works is up near Siward Street (Image: Kevin Glenton)

A council spokesperson said: "Businesses and residents of Hull Road were consulted with in May where they were asked for their opinions on two different working patterns.

"They were asked for their feedback, and advised that work would begin in September.

"The Notice of Intention for the Temporary Traffic Regulation Order to close the road was put up on street and in the press on Friday September 1 and the Notice of Making was put up on street and in the press today (Friday September 15)."

The council said the works will now be split into three tranches to allow for better access for properties, and so that the number of nights where vehicles are unable to access them is kept to a minimum.

Adam Otterburn manages The Bluefin where he’s worked for five years.

He said: “Seven o’clock is one of our busiest times so you can imagine we’re going to lose a lot of business with people not being able to get through."

Adam was concerned about the impact on Friday night takings in particular (Image: Kevin Glenton)

The council said the majority of those that responded to the resident survey confirmed they preferred a working pattern with longer shifts (7pm to 3am) as it meant the work could be completed sooner, causing less disruption overall.

Alex said 70 per cent of bamboo thai’s food orders are collected by customers usually travelling by car or increasingly via third-party delivery app drivers.

He said he might need to turn off his delivery apps for orders once drivers realise that they can’t easily access his restaurant due to closures and diversions.

Alex said: “The worst-case scenario is that they’ll accept the job and when they get near to the works, they’ll just decline it.

“Eventually, they’ll all learn that they can’t get near here.

“So we’ll have food sat there and we’ll have to tell the customer that the rider didn’t come to collect it."

Ravinder said the only third-party delivery app drivers he will see will be on bicycles and he will lose 60 per cent of an average week’s takings due to the overnight closures.

The council spokesperson said: "Unfortunately due to the nature of the work required, some loss of access for vehicles was unavoidable.

"We have tried to minimise the disruption this will cause and planned works to allow for the easiest access possible on foot."

Alex said regular customers who see the council’s temporary road closures online will think they can’t get to the restaurant for what is usually the busiest time for takings.