Shop owners are worried the planned closure of Splott Road Bridge will affect business. The bridge will be closed for nine months from next March as part of Network Rail’s electrification work between London and Swansea.
Splott Road has more than twenty shops and businesses which have already seen a drop in business as a result of roadworks at the other end of the road earlier this year. Shops affected include bakers, newsagents and a betting shop.
Estate agent David Matthews runs his business on Splott Road. He says there is ‘no doubt’ the closure will affect the area and will cause problems for a large number of businesses that rely on passing trade. Mr. Matthews says people feel prefer visiting estate agents rather than using the internet and long term roadworks may put people off from visiting his business.
Splott Road Bridge is more than one hundred years old and is considered by some as a local landmark because of its colourful graffiti. Network Rail says the bridge is overdue a rebuild and they won’t provide compensation to businesses for loss of trade. The bridge will be knocked down and rebuilt at a higher level to support new overhead lines for trains and the new bridge will provide wider footpaths.
