'We are losing customers because of nearby landslips'

A Worcestershire publican said his business is "suffering terribly" due to nearby landslips and is calling for council compensation.

Giles Goodhew, from The Wellington Inn in Malvern, said he feared for the pub's future due to the landslide along the A449 at British Camp.

"It's impacted us in a major way," he said, "the road closure seems to be dragging on and on".

Worcestershire County Council said it could not give a timetable on the repair, but added that a £5m pot had been identified to fix the road.

Goodhew said he found it "unbelievable" that the road had been closed since September last year due to the problems.

The route was due to reopen earlier this year only for a second landslip to appear in February several hundred metres away along the A449, resulting in the prolonged closure.

"We've got lots of customers who come from that side of the hill, and as time goes on [their custom] drifts away more and more," he said.

"The council should give us some compensation to help keep us going.

"There's been no consultation with us, no notification, all we've ever been told is that it's a 'temporary road closure' and that's it.

"It just goes on and on."

The council has earmarked £5m towards repairing the A449 landslip, as well as another along the B4204 at Rochford, near Tenbury Wells.

The money is coming from central government under a transport strategy for the county that is set to be signed off in November.

Councillor Tom Wells, cabinet member for highways, said it was unlikely that either route would be re-opened by Christmas, calling it a "big civil engineering challenge".

"I know the impact on businesses has been significant," he said.

"But I want to be honest with people, both of these are not simple projects.

"I can't be drawn on a timescale, but it will be done as quickly as it will be done," he added.

"I absolutely get the frustration this is causing people in terms of daily travel, and I'm particularly concerned about the businesses."

The wider £250m transport plan is a four-year strategy that the authority has been working on for several months.

It includes improvements to Redditch railway station and upgrades to bus stops, including more CCTV and new digital timetables.

It also means the A4440 Southern Link Road in Worcester could be re-engineered to improve capacity, including the possibility of traffic lights at some islands, as well as new cycling and walking routes across Worcestershire.

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