BEWDLEY businesses fear the town will be dealt a crushing blow when roadworks start to allow vital repair work to St Anne’s Church.

A temporary road closure of Park Lane, from its junction with Orchard Rise to Load Street and High Street, was due to begin on Monday (May 9) for necessary repairs to the church, but has since been delayed and will start in June.

During a recent inspection of St Anne’s, in Load Street, it was found that urgent work was required to the roof and parapets of the church, which received a grant of £100,000 from the Government’s Roof Repair Fund for the project.

Robert Smith, of St Anne’s Church Property Group, said that in order to complete the work partial road closures are necessary and the work had been organised for when rainfall is at its lowest so water does not damage the church.

A spokesman for Worcestershire County Council said a decision had been made to postpone the works until June 12 to talk to local residents and finalise which roads will be affected.

But, Bewdley traders said the latest works could be the final blow following the closure of the town’s last bank in January and losing parking spaces during the construction of the new medical centre.

John Beeson, Bewdley Town councillor and manager of Bewdley Farm Shop, said: “It will certainly be tough on the town’s businesses when the roadworks start.

“It has been a hard couple of years in Bewdley with the reduction of parking due to the new medical centre being built.

“I have been running a traders group to try and make Bewdley a better place to do business and all the shops are worried.

“The main focus now is to try and encourage people to stay local and shop in the town. We cannot afford to have any more empty shops so we need to remind people that Bewdley is a great place to visit and shop.”

Dave Carr, co-owner of Bewdley Brewery, added: “If the work goes ahead how it was planned to, Bewdley will be gridlocked for the whole summer – you won’t be able to get in and out of the town. Visitors will not come to the town because of the queues.

“I think some traders will go out of business. They are fearful – the shops are suffering. When the last bank leaves the town, it goes down.

“We are not getting passing trade. We won’t get any more when the road closes.”

Linda Hayden, of Hayden Estates, said: "How many more nails in the coffin. The closing of the banks has had a big impact on the town.

"The footfall is bad enough without the road closures. We have had to enjure the loss of parking with the medical centre being built. 

"It will be a huge impact on business."

Mr Smith said: “The location of the church makes repair work very difficult to undertake.

“We are really sorry that partial road closures are needed but this is necessary to protect vehicles and people passing underneath high level masonry work on the church.

“Because the streets are so narrow the scaffold will block the street so temporary traffic management arrangements are required.

“We are anxious to minimise any inconvenience while the work is progressing but it is very difficult to cause no disruption in such a confined area as Bewdley.

“The work is currently programmed for 12 weeks. It involves a renewal of roof and parapet structures meaning that the roof structures will be exposed to the elements.

“We are very aware of the concerns of local businesses and are doing everything we can to minimise impact on their businesses but unfortunately the nature of this essential urgent work and the church’s location so close to the highway makes it more difficult to avoid any disruption.”