Cupernham Lane closure causes loss of business for Lemon and Jinja

Cupernham Lane, Romsey, has been closed on and off since February while Southern Water repair sewers and reinstate the carriageway.

Although signs are in place, eco store Lemon and Jinja, in Belbins Business Park, has said it’s been “heavily impacted” with a decline in footfall due to customers confused as to how to reach them.

Belbins Business Park (Image: Google Maps)

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The road was closed again on Wednesday, July 19, with businesses in the industrial estate not being warned.

Lemon and Jinja owner Jess Dugdale believes there should be more advanced notices so the team can include information in their newsletters and social media posts.

She said: “The road has been closed at least four or five times since we moved here from Basepoint.

“In the first two weeks of the closure footfall dropped by around 20 per cent. Even a lot of our regulars started coming in a lot less because it was inconvenient.

“We just moved and we’ve been heavily impacted even though the works won’t benefit us in any way. It’s hard for us to tell our customers and it shouldn’t be our job, it’s not acceptable.

“We were so excited to move and it has been incredible for us. But it’s been really difficult for our customers moving from Basepoint to Belbins and it has definitely tainted it.

“We’ve all been late multiple times and lost customers who find it difficult to navigate. As an industrial estate, we seem to be forgotten about and we’re not the only ones."

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Lemon and Jinja staff. Owner Jess Dugdale (centre right) (Image: Adele Bouchard)

The shop, which moved to its new home in February, has received messages from customers confused by the road closure signs.

One message read: “The signage is so unclear. It would be easier if it said ‘no through road’ rather than ‘road closed’”

Others have been asking if the shop is even open.

Ms Dugdale said: “There are massive signs that say road closed and then signs behind that which say access to residents and then the business open signs are behind them both so it’s not obvious to people driving past.

“Credit goes to Cllr Nick Adams-King who posts the list of road closures in the area every week on Facebook but not everyone is on social media and I don’t have the time to trail through the whole list to see if we’re on it.”

Hampshire County Council and Southern Water have been contacted for comment.