STREET closures in Abergavenny town centre during the pre-Christmas rush are severely dampening the festive spirits of traders and shoppers.

And it was announced this week that Wales and West Utilities gas pipe replacement work is set to continue until December 20 at the earliest.

Traffic delays on the A465 due to diversions linked to the dualling of the Heads of the Valleys road from Gilwern to Brynmawr are also deterring many potential visitors from coming to Abergavenny in the first place…

The utilities company say they have every sympathy with traders but their workmen have hit major setbacks in the project.

They stress they were asked by Monmouthshire County Council to undertake this essential work now, in advance of the council’s £1m street improvements project which needs to be finished by the time the town hosts the National Eisteddfod next August.

They add that any businesses that feel they have been seriously affected by the work can make a claim for compensation.

It’s likely a number of traders will be taking advantage of that opportunity.

Several in Frogmore Street were happy to voice their grievances about the current situation to the Chronicle

Richard Barber, manager of Nichols said, “The first three weeks of December are our busiest period of the year bar none. We take 25 percent of our annual revenue during that time and we have seen a large part of our usual takings diminish because of these gas works.

“We had already noticed a fall in customers due to the roadworks taking place on the Rock (Clydach Gorge), as many of our customers who travel from the Valleys and further have just been completely put off by the time it takes to get to Abergavenny.”

Geraint Tibbs who works in Tony Pryce Sports said, “These gasworks have been absolutely devastating for our business. We are more than £2,000 down on revenue from the same time last year.

“The road has been closed from Lion Street and the diversion signs throughout town are confusing drivers.

“The disabled parking bays near Tesco are a lot harder to access and this has also kept away older shoppers.

“Lots of our business is going the opposite way now, to Cyfarthfa Park in Merthyr, as people aren’t delayed getting there by roadworks on the Heads of the Valleys.”

Geraint’s colleague Aaron Watkins added, “There’s never really a good time to shut off the roads to do works like these, but they would have been better in January after the busiest shopping period of the year.”

Katie Watkins of Retro Diner said, “Not only have we lost money throughout the works, but the jackhammer has been working directly outside our window through the weekend. Everyone has had awful headaches because of this and there hasn’t really been any respite.

“In the workers’ lunch hour on Sunday we noticed business picked back up as there was no noise outside, but it soon slipped away again when they returned to working.”

She said a staff member had contacted MCC for information last week and been told that Frogmore Street would not be shut through the week due to roadworks.

Michael Jones, owner of Gus Jones Jewellers said, “It’s not really affected my business so far, but this was a poor time of year that the council have chosen to carry out these works and I sympathise with other proprietors.

“The local council aren’t really interested in helping us retailers in Abergavenny, they’re just interested in collecting money from us. We’re a cash cow to them.”

Wales & West Utilities Programme Controller for East Wales, Melanie Hole, said, “I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the ongoing delay on this job, and thank local people for bearing with us. I can assure the local community that our teams are working as safely and as quickly as they can.”

She said the company were continuing to experience ‘significant engineering difficulties - in particular the ground conditions in the area and other, unrelated utility equipment laid in the way of our new gas pipe’.

The team, however, was making progress and, barring any further engineering difficulties, anticipated that the work would be completed by December 20.

But she stressed that it continued to be an extremely complex project, and the company would keep the community updated on progress.

She added that any business owners who felt they had been adversely affected by the work could discuss their concerns individually on 0800 912 2999.

Wales and West Utilities say the work being undertaken will support Abergavenny now and into the future, and will ensure that homes and businesses continue to receive a safe and reliable supply of gas.

“We have agreed with the local authority that we will do this work now, before the area is regenerated ahead of the Eisteddfod in 2016,“ said Melanie.

“All local businesses are open as usual while we are working and we will accommodate trade deliveries. We’ve also visited businesses to understand their individual needs and requirements.”

The work being undertaken is part of the company’s multi-million-pound 30-year mains replacement programme, across Wales and the south west of England, which began in 2002.

Old metal pipes within 30 metres of buildings are being replaced with new long-lasting plastic pipes with a lifespan of more than 80 years.