Free parking for two hours in Caerphilly town centre will be introduced at the council’s pay and display car park at the Twyn in the run-up to Christmas.
Caerphilly County Borough Council hopes the move will alleviate some of the pain caused to retailers in the wake of delays caused by the roadworks at the Pwllypant Cedar Tree roundabout.
The council has said it has listened to the concerns of motorists and local businesses and is aiming to open two lanes on the roundabout from November 30 to help improve traffic flow.
Two lanes will be available on the A469 Llanbradach bypass, meaning that traffic will not be required to merge into one lane when travelling southbound on the bypass.
Two lanes will also be available around the roundabout.
Cllr Sean Morgan, deputy leader of Council said: “We are aware of the significant impact that these works are having on the community and we have listened to the feedback from motorists and local businesses.
“We also recognise the importance of this critical pre-Christmas period for the local economy and we want to support businesses by encouraging shoppers into Caerphilly town centre. Our message is that Caerphilly is open for business and we would encourage everyone to support local traders.
After Christmas, the traffic management arrangements will revert back to as they are now.
Cllr Colin Mann, leader of the Plaid Cymru group, has welcomed Caerphilly council’s decision to open an extra lane on the Pwllypant roundabout in the run up to Christmas.
But he urged the council to look at further measures to ease congestion once the festive season was over.
He said: “I’m not at all happy that we will revert back to one lane after Christmas which will again lead to more disruption for residents and traders. There needs to be urgent consideration by the council and contractors of measures to ease the chaos in the new year.”
Businesses could claim compensation over Pwllypant roadworks disruption
Claims to compensate business owners for financial losses incurred during the Pwllypant roadworks will be looked at on a case-by-case basis, Caerphilly County Borough Council has said.
Speaking at a meeting of business owners held at council headquarters Ty Penallta on November 10, the council’s corporate director of communities Christina Harrhy said business rate relief could be offered through the Valuation Office and that the council could also compensate for losses.
She said: “The council has got discretionary powers to look at cases. In order to do that you need to allow a period of time to pass to be able to demonstrate to us the loss or the increase in costs, because ultimately the bottom line figure is a loss.
“You need to allow a period of time for this scheme to continue to show that ongoing impact to you.”
She added: “We are open to consider individual cases, but it is for you to be able to give us the information so that we can look at it on a case-by-case basis.”
The heated meeting was attended by representatives of around 50 businesses with several angry at the council’s response to their concerns so far.
Ryan Nicholls, owner of Quest Fitness Club on Gallagher Retail Park in Caerphilly, said daily visits by members had fallen by a third and that he had reluctantly let two staff members go.
He told the meeting: “There has been a massive impact on our daily takings and I’m worried about people not being able to get to the gym and then cancelling their membership.”
Mr Nicholls also said council plans to ease congestion by opening two lanes of the roundabout over Christmas would not help – as his busiest time of the year is in January.
Several businesses also disagreed with council assertions that delays were not excessive.
Caerphilly Skip Hire and Celtic Horizons said data from their vehicle trackers showed delays of up to 40 minutes at times.
Michael Jones, director of Caerphilly Skip Hire, told Caerphilly Observer the extra delays were costing his business £1,000 a week in additional costs.
He said: “The only reason I came here today was for compensation. That was the only reason everybody else came today.
“We are putting more lorries on the road to achieve the same results.”
The council also explained to business owners that demands for more workers to speed up the works was difficult due to budgetary reasons, the size of the site and for contractors to comply with safety regulations.
David Williams is the owner of the Wingfield Hotel in Llanbradach and has seen a dramatic drop-off in trade since the roadworks started.
Combined with a 267% business rates increase next year, Mr Williams said the roadworks were “killing” his business.
Speaking after the meeting he said he found the council’s tone “patronising”.