TRADERS in Oxford’s High Street are furious over a broken promise to stop roadworks for most of the Christmas shopping period.

County council contractors are in the middle of a 10-month resurfacing scheme in The High, but had agreed to suspend the work for 49 days to limit the effects on Christmas trade.

They were going to halt work on November 22 and re-start on January 11.

But yesterday, the county confirmed a complication in the scheme meant that the suspension has been cut to 27 days – December 10-January 7 – leaving shop owners worried it would harm their sales.

Phillip Scaysbrook, who runs Hoyle’s traditional games shop, said: “I’m furious about this because the council has gone back on a promise it made to traders before the roadworks started.

“There was a stakeholders’ meeting at Oriel College and the council said ‘we recognise you need a Christmas break when people can shop to their hearts’ content’.

“The roadworks are bound to have a detrimental effect on trade and we don’t want them to put people off at one of the busiest times of year.

“We do 40 per cent of our annual business from mid-November until Christmas Eve and this extension is bound to eat into our takings.

“I stand to lose thousands of pounds and I think the council should reverse its decision.”

Paul Hughes, contracts manager for Aggregate Industries, said the extension had been requested by the council after the discovery of tar-bound material in the road surface.

He added: “The delay has come about because the material needs to be tested and then a suitable site found for its disposal. We regret the inconvenience for traders, but if we stopped the work when we originally planned and then came back in January the job would be extended until May.

“Oxfordshire County Council decided not to prolong the length of the contract into the middle of next year.

“If we finished as anticipated on November 22, one section would not be completed and there would be a step in the road, so this change is also for safety reasons.”

Graham Jones, a spokesman for the Oxford High Street Association, said his organisation, which represents traders, was not consulted on the change.

He added: “It does seem like the council has reneged on the original agreement and it could have entered into a proper dialogue with us before handing out letters to traders.

“There are more than 100 traders in the High Street and surrounding area who will be affected by this.

“Roadworks are bound to be a deterrent to shoppers.

“The extension will have a negative impact on Christmas trading and I hope the decision can be reversed following negotiations.”

County council spokesman Paul Smith said: “We are open to suggestions from traders about when the work is rescheduled.

“We currently propose to run until December 10.

“However, if people find this unacceptable, we can listen to alternatives.”

affrench@oxfordmail.co.uk