Droitwich News
Town MP to meet with traders hit by gas main work disruption
2:00pm Monday 6th February 2012
DROITWICH MP Peter Luff will visit the site of on-going gas main works to check on progress and to ensure the needs of businesses are being properly catered for.
He will meet traders at the junction of Worcester Road and Tagwell Road on Friday after disruption has led to many fearing they may have to close shops and make staff redundant.
His intervention comes after complaints from three retailers in the area about trade being hit and National Grid not telling them what was happening or how to get compensation.
Mr Luff said: "I have already arranged for National Grid to talk to the businesses affected and I want to make sure that has happened.
"Essential works like these always cause some disruption and it is vital they are completed as rapidly as possible to minimise it. So I will also be looking for guarantees from the firm that the work is progressing properly with the right level of resource devoted to it.
"I will also be checking on the consultation arrangements before this work began. Recently in Fernhill Heath, also on the A38, we saw an abject failure to manage the consultation, the works or the compensation properly. My impression is that these new works in Droitwich have been handled better, but it's obvious that some mistakes have still been made. On Friday I will be trying to work our how serious those mistakes actually were.
"I will also do everything I can to ensure businesses that have lost money are fairly compensated, but I know from bitter experience that the rules are pretty tough and seem to be loaded against small low-margin businesses such as those on the Worcester Road that have been in touch with me. That's another reason why getting the work done quickly is so important."