TWO sets of roadworks in different parts of the island are severely hampering the same company. Cams, which operates hire centres in Les Amballes, St Peter Port, and at Lowlands Estate, Braye Road, Vale, has seen business hit because of the closures.

Owner Marc Littlewood said it had received no prior warning about them.

The first he knew about the work in Les Amballes was when it started on Monday.

But according to Environment’s notification process, which was introduced on 1 May 2006, businesses are supposed to be given advanced notice by letter of any closures.

‘In three days we have had just one customer at Les Amballes. We usually have at least seven or eight a day,’ said Mr Littlewood.

‘The roadworks mean no business for us. What makes it twice as bad is that Braye Road is shut for six weeks as well and people are struggling to get to our Lowlands store, which has been down by about 50%.’

Closure of the junction of Le Bouet and Les Amballes is for Guernsey Water and Guernsey Gas to lay eight new services, replace a gas main and to renew a gas main and service.

The roads are scheduled to reopen on Friday.

Road resurfacing in three sections at Braye Road, Vale, started last Tuesday and is due to finish by 14 October.

Mr Littlewood said the route available to access its Les Amballes store through St Clement’s Road was not ideal for the lorries that his customers predominately used.

‘How are they expected to come and collect something from us if they can’t get to us?

‘Because we had no warning, we couldn’t tell customers in advance to go round this way or that way.’

He added that roadworks simply put off some people going to a place and that it would have been easy to let people through the back of Les Amballes.

‘It wouldn’t have taken too much consideration to put a steel plate over the hole in the road at one end of Les Amballes and allow people to drive over it.

‘If we had been given notice we could have scheduled other works to be done.

‘Road maintenance has to be done but it’s not coordinated at the moment. The protocols they are meant to be following aren’t working.’

Environment minister David De Lisle could not be contacted.