SINGLETON Radiators owner Tony Sneddon believes the way Singleton Council has gone about upgrades to Dunolly and Bridgman roads near his business has been “a shambles”.
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“I’ve lost loads of business because of the difficulty for customers or would-be customers to get here,” he said.
“It feels like I’m stuck on an island.”
Work on the upgrade came to a halt on November 17 when a review identified issues with the road sub base and, on December 15, council approved a variation to increase the scope of stormwater and subsoil drainage for the upgrade.
The repairs resumed on January 5 after the festive break and the predicted finish date is April 27, weather permitting.
The normally busy thoroughfare is now a ghost town, according to Mr Sneddon who’s worried about his business’ survival.
“No thought went into the well-being of my business and I’m the only one here, so there’s not much I can do,” he told The Argus.
“This business has been here for more than 40 years and was a service station before that.
“It didn’t pop up yesterday.”
Council’s acting general manager Gary Thomson said the delays to the completion of the project were regrettable but will ensure the best long-term outcome for motorists and ratepayers.
“We appreciate the ongoing patience of residents and thank them for their ongoing understanding,” he added.
Mr Sneddon did, however, praise the help of the KCE workers who have helped add more access to his business.
“Business was just starting to pick up when the work started, the summer months are traditionally busy,” he said.
Mr Sneddon said council told him he was eligible to apply for compensation but getting through the mountain of paperwork wouldn’t be worth the amount available.
The Singleton Radiators owner said if the work was broken into two sections from the start, there would have been easy access to his site the entire time.
“There wasn’t a discussion,” he said.
