Express & Star

A41 Bilston Road works: Traders fury after revelation Birmingham businesses got compensation for similar works

Businesses affected by Midland Metro roadworks in Wolverhampton - which have not received compensation - have now been told firms in Birmingham were aided during works there.

Published
Roadworks on the A41

Roadworks which stretch for more than a mile from Wolverhampton city centre to the junction with Culwick Street along the A41 Bilston Road have been in place since June and will remain until Christmas.

Traders have reported huge losses and two have been forced to shut altogether while tracks are replaced.

Despite their complaints they were told last month they will not receive a penny in compensation and instead will be helped with 'marketing and promotion.'

Now it has emerged businesses in Birmingham city centre were compensated while the line was extended to Grand Central and the railway station. The extended line opened in June last year.

The Midland Metro Alliance (MMA) said UK legislation does not allow for compensation for 'maintenance' projects.

Rakesh Ladher, secretary of the Bilston Road Action Group, said: "It is not good. It is not right at all.

"The timespan of the works are irrelevant. Everyone has suffered here.

"The queues along the road are only getting worse. The last few days it has taken a long time to get down there.

"If they got some compensation in Birmingham there should be some here, definitely."

Wolverhampton South East MP, Pat McFadden, has been campaigning on behalf of the A41 traders.

He added: “I don’t think local businesses will accept or understand the reasons given for compensating some businesses in Birmingham but not in Wolverhampton.

"Arguments about the duration of the works are no comfort or use to small businesses struggling to stay afloat as a result of these works.

"Six months with little or no trade is a long time and I want these businesses to be helped now."

A Midland Metro Alliance spokesperson, said: "UK parliamentary legislation governs most of the rules regarding construction and operation of a tramway in the UK, including compensation during initial construction of a tram network.

"The West Midlands's equivalent is the Midland Metro Act 1989. The current works on Bilston Road are classed as maintenance and the act unfortunately does not award compensation for these.

“The Birmingham City Centre Extension being referred to was covered by the act as it was a newly constructed tramline. Businesses have been given advice on applying for rate relief from the Valuation Office, and for Hardship Relief if they can supply evidence of the impact of the works on their trade.

"The Midland Metro Alliance and the council have met regularly with the traders, both individually and via the Bilston Road Action Group, and have provided marketing support to promote the fact the traders are open for business."

In the last month family-run firm The Grafix Workshop on Cable Street and Smoke Busters on Bilston Road have both shut down due to the MMA works.

Bilston Road is closed heading into town while tram tracks are replaced in the centre of the carriageway.

The work is being carried out by the MMA on behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).