OWNERS of a pub in the shadow of a huge flyover say they will have to shut it down because no one visits anymore.
Disgruntled business owners in Stockbury, Kent, say they’ve seen a “significant” decline in their income since work began on National Highways’ M2 junction 5 improvements two years ago.
SWNSLocals in Stockbury have slammed this sprawling flyover[/caption]
SWNSPub landlord Chris Porter says the flyover is a ‘nightmare’[/caption]
Chris Porter runs the town’s community-owned pub, The Harrow, and has seen his boozer affected by what he calls a “nightmare”.
Stockbury locals purchased the 200-year-old public house in 2017 after it was put up for sale by brewer Shepherd Neame.
A group of 140 shareholders invested between £200 and £20,000 to secure the £380,000 needed to save the site.
However, Chris feels the village’s watering hole is now facing “really serious consequences” as a result of the nearby roadworks.
The 74-year-old told KentOnline: “It’s a bit of a nightmare. The problems over the past eight months have been building.
“Getting people up here is so difficult. We had a thriving village shop and pub and now they have lost their custom.
“We have had a significant loss of intake, it is in the thousands.”
And the pub owner believes that when the major project is over it won’t really benefit the community.
Chris continued: “When the flyover is done, the A249 is going to become such a fast road and people will go straight past us.
“With the flyover, people will go straight between Maidstone and Sheppey. It will take away needed business from us.
“We understand it is important work but we need support.
“National Highways have thought about Sheppey, Maidstone, and Sittingbourne but they have forgotten about us.
“We can understand that this is a major project that will benefit motorists but we need financial help from National Highways.”
Chris, who has lived in the village for 30 years, is urging people to continue to visit the village despite the difficulties.
He added: “Please don’t forget about us.
“We’re always looking for improvements for refurbishments and we need to raise £5,000 for essential maintenance.
“If the pub made enough money and wasn’t being impacted by the flyover works then we wouldn’t need to fundraise.
“We’re not going to go out of business as we’re determined not to but we need people’s support in order to keep going.”
Those would like to support The Harrow have been asked to visit the fundraising page here.
Other businesses have also been affected by the costs of the flyover.
Matthew Brown, who is part of the family who runs MB Farms, helps the firm deal in livestock, a butchery, farm shop, and a post office.
The 27-year-old said: “People are avoiding coming here like the plague.
“When they shut certain parts of the A249, to get here motorists have to go all the way to Bobbing to turn around.
“The back lanes are solid and people just won’t come here because of the traffic.”
Meanwhile, Dave Tomsett, who runs vehicle repair shop Tomsett Kent, says he has seen his client base drop by a third since work began in 2021.
The 66-year-old said: “We are open and we are welcoming customers but we’ve lost a lot of them.
“It’s been a heavy hit but customers have said they’re not coming because they don’t want to sit in traffic.”
A spokesman for National Highways explained that the agency had hosted multiple online calls with its human resources and marketing departments to provide aid to The Harrow.
They explained that emails were sent to onsite Highways staff inviting them to use the pub and the organisation has directly supported the village by paying to hire the cricket pitch and hosting drinks and food in The Harrow afterwards.
National Highways has also taken a page in the local monthly Stockbury Observer to make sure that Stockbury residents who may not use social media or the internet can stay up to date with any news related to the scheme.
The spokesman said: “It is right that public organisations can be challenged on aspects of their work, but I would assure people that National Highways build roads in a socially responsible way, in a way where the legacy of our schemes remains a positive one; for the environment, the road user and those living and working nearby.
“We remain confident that we are delivering significant improvements to both safety and congestion on the M2 Jct 5 improvements at Stockbury as well as a huge boost to the regional economy.”
SWNSDave Tomsett said he has lost many customers[/caption]
SWNSMatthew Brown said people ‘avoid coming here like the plague’[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
