Closure of Station Road in Sawbridgeworth sparks fury of businesses who brand it ‘utter madness’

The planned closure of a road in Sawbridgeworth which is warned will cause chaos has been delayed after residents and businesses did not receive sufficient notice.

A section of Station Road will be closed for up to three weeks from next Monday (October 7) to facilitate scaffolding for urgent repairs to the roof of a building in The Maltings.

The road near the level crossing was due to be closed from this Monday (Sept 30), but following complaints from businesses and residents the works were put back a week.

News of the closure was greeted with horror, with businessman Daniel Potter branding it “utter madness”. Another asked whom he should send invoices to for loss of trade.

Daniel has written to Hertford and Stortford MP Josh Dean to appraise him of the “recent appalling traffic issues that Sawbridgeworth has faced”.

He also spoke of the dangers to pedestrians caused by traffic being diverted via Sheering Mill Lane due to its narrow paths.

Melanie Rich, from Enchanted Bridal Boutique based at The Maltings, said she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and called the plan “terrible”.

Melanie moved her business from Crumps Farm in West Road after traders were hit by numerous closures due to the new Sawbridge Park housing development.

She added: “It’s going to be chaos and, like other businesses, mine will really be hit hard. I give my brides a relaxed environment and this is going to stress them out before they even get to me.”

In delivering the bad news on the Sawbridgeworth Facebook group, Cllr Eric Buckmaster, Hertfordshire County Council member for Sawbridgeworth, posted an initial statement from the county’s highways department saying the road would undergo 24/7 closure from September 30 to October 25 and appreciated it was “short notice”.

A later post said: “Essex County Council were unhappy with the original proposals of a one-way closure due to safety concerns and therefore the decision has been made between all authorities to proceed under a full closure.

“At the request of Network Rail, the level crossing will be closed to avoid traffic backing onto the crossing which would create a safety risk. Therefore traffic travelling from Essex/Lower Sheering will unfortunately need to follow the signed diversion route as per Essex County Council’s requirements.”

The statement added: “We fully anticipate traffic may choose to cut through Sawbridgeworth town centre to get around the closure and will therefore be working to keep the road network as clear as possible.”

Then another statement to Cllr Buckmaster informed him the work would be delayed for a week to “allow some additional time to publicise the closure” and ‘Businesses open as usual’ signs would be put up when the closure is enforced.