BUSINESSES say they are losing out on passing trade after one of Burnley’s busiest roads has closed for two weeks due to roadworks.

Trafalgar Street will be resurfaced by Lancashire County Council as part of the Weavers Triangle regeneration scheme.

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All firms operating on the street remain open, but they will be relying on customers making a special effort to reach them, as there will be no passing trade with vehicles unable to travel the length of the street from Westway to the Manchester Road roundabout.

Amanda Musselwhite, manager at Kitchen’s Garage, said: “We are only doing around 20 per cent of what we normally do.

“You would never normally see all of the pumps empty, but that is the case at the moment.

“It’s the passing trade we are losing out on. It’s affected us drastically, but it has to be done I suppose.

“Customers are just coming in dribs and drabs, which is not how it normally is.”

Staff and students can also still access the University Technical College, in Trafalgar Street.

Oliver Starkey, highways manager for East Lancashire, said: “We’re sorry for the inconvenience while Trafalgar Street is closed, but hope people agree that it will be worth it in the long term as we make Burnley a better place to live, visit and do business.

“Changing the timings on the Mitre junction will help to keep traffic moving as efficiently as possible, and we’ve also arranged for BT to do a separate job on Trafalgar Street at the same time, which will help to minimise overall disruption.

Trafalgar Street will fully reopen to traffic on the morning of Saturday, September 13.

There are already roadworks in place at Gannow roundabout at the top of Westway, near the junction with M65, as traffic lights are installed.

Motorists also face delays on the M65 between junction 10 at Gannow, Burnley, and junction 12 at Brierfield, until December, with roadworks to improve safety barriers.