The boss of a town centre café has decided to cease trading amid claims nearby long-running roadworks have made it “impossible to survive”.

Jason Astell, who owns Allison’s Pantry, in Spital Street, Dartford, said he lost around 85% of his trade after construction started at the intersection next to his eatery in August.

He told KentOnline: “It has just killed my trade. There is less footfall and people cannot get here anymore.

“My customers are sad I am closing but when they cannot get here, there is not much either of us can do.”

The roadworks, at the intersection with Highfield Road, West Hill, Spital Street and the A226, started on August 28 are expected to last for another five months.

Although three-way traffic lights are in place, motorists cannot drive onto the junction from Spital Street; instead, they are being diverted through and around the town centre.

Signs warning about the road closure have been placed at the junction with Kent Road and Spital Street, directing people to turn left to enter the rest of the one-way system.

Dartford council has said it is working with its contractor to address issues raised by businesses during the closure.

But Jason says the roadworks have “killed” his passing trade as motorists would need to turn around and face a lengthy diversion instead of joining the intersection.

The 53-year-old added: “It is just taking them forever and they do not have time especially if they are on a breakfast or lunch break.

“Some businesses down here are chains so their other branches can support it but my little one-man band does not have that.”

Jason, who lives in Swanley, said he is losing around £800 a week and has struggled to pay his rent on the building.

The former Tesco worker added: “I knew it was never going to be a big money maker and that is not what I planned it to be.

“When you start a new business you know it is going to take a while to make money and it was just starting to then after these roadworks my trade died overnight.

“It has never been about making money as it was never going to make a fortune. It was to help me after losing my wife.”

Jason started Allison’s Pantry in April 2022 after his partner Allison died unexpectedly at 53-years-old at the beginning of the pandemic.

She loved to visit coffee shops and tea rooms but Jason thought they were too expensive so following her death he wanted to create a place in her memory that served quality yet affordable food.

However, he has now decided to pack the pantry in and its last day of trading is today (October 11).

“I am just not covering my costs anymore and when you are sat here with no customers, it is disheartening,” he explained.

“I planned to be here until I retired in another six or seven years but I cannot afford to anymore.

“Closing the business has been an extremely difficult decision especially due to the reasons for starting it in the first place.

“The roadworks have made it impossible to survive.”

The upgrades to the intersection are part of Dartford council’s £12million regeneration project to make the town centre more accessible for pedestrians and public transport.

The works will see simplified pedestrian crossings, new traffic light technology to reduce waiting times, a new bus stop and repaving.

A spokesperson for Dartford council said: “We have been in close contact with businesses since before these vital improvement works began.

“We hand-delivered notice of these improvement works to businesses three months before work started, and visited again two weeks prior to the start date to minimise any disruption.

“We have been working with our contractor to address any issues raised by businesses during this time.

“Westgate and Spital Street have remained open to pedestrians throughout, and the public car park at the end of Spital Street remains open, although the junction is closed to through traffic.

“All the parking bays along the streets have remained open with the exception of a 17m length of bay (equivalent to 3 spaces) for nine days when the construction site was set up. These bays were fully re-opened on September 7.

“Parking continues to be available in bays opposite, adjacent to works and in the car park.”

Council leader Jeremy Kite previously defended the upgrades which he said were necessary to ease ongoing problems for motorists outside of their control which are caused by the M25.

He added: “The council always gets the blame for it but it comes down to the national network - when the tunnel is in trouble we get a knock-on effect.

“The whole idea is to create a better traffic scenario around the whole town but I cannot promise an end to congestion until we get the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) built.

“But we have got to do something about it and the work we have done on the earlier phases has made a difference.”

A decision on the LTC was due to be made last week, however, it has been delayed again until May.