TRADERS in West Bay say enhancement works may look pretty but will damage their businesses.

A £310,000 road improvement scheme started this month but the changes are not finding favour with companies.

Ann Guppy from Prototec said there should have been consultations specifically with businesses.

She said: “Nobody took into consideration how the Bay works.

“With the narrowing of the road, all we can see is this is going to cause confusion and congestion. We are just going to be in gridlock and it is just creating a very negative vibe.

“The council has not taken on board the essence of West Bay.

“The main car park is too far from the centre.

“The narrowing is ridiculous and there will be no signage to say that there is actually a thriving harbour with places to eat.”

Lindsey Blair, the proprietor of Harbour Stores, the Quarter Deck bar and Durbeyfield Guest House, said: “We were told that there would be consultation but it is our belief that the works had been ordered before the final consultation. I think it was just lip service.

“There appears to be very little thought about the effects these works are going to have on the running of the businesses.”

She said her drivers were worried they would not be able to make their deliveries.

She added it was not clear if the parking spaces outside Harbour Stores would remain.

“People shop with us because they can park the car directly outside.

“If they go to a supermarket or the Spar, they have to park the car and walk, so it is very important to us to keep the spaces.

She added: “The finished works may look pretty but it isn’t prettiness that means we are going to make a living.

“After the bad season, with the flooding and the Olympics, this is the final straw.”

Richard Attrill from Harbour News said the council didn’t listen to what people wanted.

He said: “The money it is costing to do the so-called enhancement is totally unnecessary.

“I would rather see the money go to a better cause like the Beaminster Tunnel.”

Paul Loud from Haddon House Hotel said the idea to narrow the road and encourage people to park and walk into West Bay was never going to work.

He said: “It is a waste of money.

“The idea is to encourage people to go into the car park and walk into West Bay – that is never going to happen.”

Richard Wilson, of Chapel Yard Pottery in the Old Timber Yard, said he was worried whether big delivery lorries would fit down the new narrow roads.

West Dorset District Council spatial and community policy manager, Hilary Jordan, said: “Extensive public consultation has been undertaken to help draw together plans to bring traffic management and environmental improvements to West Bay, most recently in March 2011. “The consultations at each stage have steered the design of the scheme and spending prioritisation, giving the local community a lot of influence over the end result.

“In addition to the consultation exercises, the council has also co-ordinated informal drop-in sessions for local residents and businesses to find out more about the scheme, including the road improvement works which have recently gotten underway.

“While the works may cause some short-term inconvenience, overall the improvements at West Bay represent £1.25m of investment to the area and the benefits of which will be felt for years to come.”