By Ben Shahrabi
Major road closures throughout the Maldon district this weekend have prompted concerns from business owners, who say customers could be prevented from visiting the town.
Maldon High Street, Market Hill and Fullbridge will be shut for 16 hours on Saturday, from 4am until 8pm, with rolling closures in place on surrounding roads for the RideLondon-Essex cycling event.
Maureen Milne, who works at Chic on the High Street, said: “It does put people off venturing out in the car, because of the thought of the chaos it’s going to cause.
“People are just going to stay away.”
Manager Julia Brown added: “I’ve got no problem with bikes, but I don’t think any time would be a good time for this event.”
Meanwhile, Tom Buckley, manager at Maldon Coffee Co in Edward’s Walk, says his business may see fewer customers but he feels the event will benefit the town.
He said: “We’re fortunate as we usually have lots of RideLondon staff and crew coming in during the day. But we do lose a lot of regulars as those not within walking distance won’t come in.
“It does affect our takings, but it’s good promotion for Maldon.”
Some business owners have decided to close on Saturday, amid concerns staff will not be able to get to work.
Deborah is the manager of a store in Heybridge which will not be open.
She said: “The main topic of conversation in the store this week from locals has been how frustrated they are with the chaos this event causes.
“The organisers clearly aren’t thinking about people getting to and from their place of work.”
Essex County Council says the road closures are necessary “to ensure the safety of everyone taking part”.
In a statement, they added: “No area will have road closures on more than one day, and we've minimised closures wherever possible.”
Kevin Dawson-Jennings, who runs the Salvation Army charity shop in the High Street, says he understands residents’ concerns.
He said: “We will trade all day as usual. I can appreciate service users in the High Street not being able to get to appointments and I can understand their frustrations.”
However, in his capacity as a Maldon District councillor, Mr Dawson-Jennings says the RideLondon commentators are keen to promote Maldon’s independent traders.
He added: “It shows the organisers want to have a positive effect on the town.”
Complete pain for locals. London should mean London.