Licensee loses £10k because of road closure

Robert Marshall-Slater of the Hest Bank Inn in Lancaster said that although North West Gas Alliance put up signs to say his pub was open, there were no directions to it. In fact, he claims a diversion route took people away from the premises.

The work, carried out on behalf of National Grid, was scheduled for 21 days but was completed five days early. National Grid’s compensation policy states that construction work needs to have been carried out for longer than 28 days.

“Eventually they put up two signs to say the pub was still open,” said Marshall-Slater. “But the diversion signs didn’t mention how to get to the pub. The road was closed but it still provided access to the pub.

“For the two weeks that the road and bridge were closed it has cost the business nearly £10,000 at a time when we can least afford it.

“From what I can gather, they seem to be a law unto themselves and there is nothing we can do.”

A North West Gas Alliance spokesman said: “The vital work was scheduled for this time of year to ensure this closure caused minimum disruption to the tourism industry in the area. We notified local residents and businesses in advance of the need to close the bridge while work was carried out.

“The bridge is one of three routes to the Hest Bank Inn and throughout the works the inn continued to be accessible by these two other routes, as well as a short diversion of approximately four miles.

“Following the start of works, Mr Marshall-Slater of the Hest Bank Inn spoke with us about his concerns, and we were happy to add additional road signage to ensure customers could easily find his business.”