The winners and losers of the closure of Old Town's busiest road
With special pavement licenses being granted it's been a win for hospitality but not so much for retail
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Old Town is open for business and then some - as they make the best out of a bad situation
By Jamie Hill and Barrie Hudson
It was eerily quiet on Devizes Road in Old Town this morning.
At a time when the busy thoroughfare would normally be thronged with traffic, there was not a vehicle to be seen.
As a main arterial road that shoots straight through Old Town it seemed slightly surreal to see it this vacant.
Ahead there are people just walking in the road and even a cat crossing without any fear of oncoming traffic.
And if it wasn’t for the occasional drilling and goings-on at the Croft Road end where the workmen seem to be as busy as beavers, it could have almost been described as idyllic.
The road has been closed for essential gas mains upgrading by Wales and West Utilities since Monday 21 July, with the works to go on until October.
For businesses along the busy street it has been a worrying time. The loss of through traffic and parking, coupled with the uncertainty over the impact on trade, are real concerns. Things haven’t exactly been easy for business in recent years so a road closure of this scale is never going to be welcome.
The road closure has also led to a bit of panic from local residents who have to now literally go round the houses to follow any diversions just to come to and from their homes.
To counter this Old Town Business Association (OTBA), led by the chair Kris Talikowski, has been doing some pretty out-of-the-box thinking to try and lessen the impact on its businesses.
OTBA has negotiated free pavement licences through Swindon Borough Council, secured a premises license extension for Devizes Road and developed a street event plan to energise the street every other Sunday during the peak of the works in August.
Kris said: “We’ve just had the first weekend of the pavement licenses and I’ve got to say that the feedback from the businesses has been very positive.
“We have a WhatsApp group for all the businesses and the reaction on the group has said that there’s been an uptick in the main.
“It’s created a real vibe on Devizes Road up and down the street.
“The real test will be the first Sunday Social events this weekend when we have a family festival. For the first time we will be closing both Wood Street and Devizes Road and we’re crossing our fingers that the weather is good so that there’s a good turnout.
“Wales and West, who are sponsoring the events, have been working with us all quite well to ensure that this works.”
Last weekend was the first weekend that the bars and restaurants of Devizes Road could take advantage of the pavement licenses, with several of them setting up tables on chairs on the actual road.