Traders are demanding answers on why seven-week roadworks have taken place in the run-up to Christmas.

A fishmonger, a gift and card seller, a cafe owner and a garden centre boss have all told KentOnline how the closure of a stretch of Halfway Road, Sheppey, has seen their footfall plummet.

The four businesses, which are within half a mile of each other, have questioned why SGN did not wait until after traders’ busiest time of year to replace old pipes with a new plastic line.

It shut the road on November 4 as part of its 30-year programme of upgrades with the new pipes having a lifespan of 80 years.

Currently, engineers are working at the junction of Filer Road which means traffic from Queenborough and the east of the Island has to go through Sheerness to reach the businesses.

There is a diversion route for drivers but congestion is putting off drivers visiting, according to the traders.

Such were the delays on Marine Parade, which was part of the diversion, Swale council suspended charges at the Ship on Shore car park in a bid to ease the problem a day after the closure began.

SGN’s contractor WCB Utilities is set to finish the work on December 23.

However, the traders argue the work should have taken place in January and February when business is slower.

Sophie Gurrea, who started up Sophie at Swalks two years ago in Power Station Road, says the number of customers coming into her gift and card shop has fallen by more than half.

The 42-year-old expanded her store last year after seeing footfall increase from 10 to 15 people a day to around 40 in the same timeframe.

However, the Halfway resident says the number of people visiting has returned to that original figure when customer numbers should be on the rise.

She said: “In my opinion, it’s very badly-managed timing.

“It’s frustrating especially when you feel they should be supporting local businesses.

“I’m lucky I’ve got some great customers, some of them can still get here with the roadworks and make that extra journey.”

Family-run Stones Garden Centre has also seen a massive decrease in sales, with it normally taking 50% more than usual at this time of year.

The onsite cafe has also seen around the same reduction.

Boss Matthew Waghorn says he has had to reduce the hours of his seasonal staff because of the fall in customers.

He has 6,500 Christmas trees imported from Denmark which he still hopes will sell.

The 48-year-old Islander said: “I cannot understand why the works did not take place in January.

“We also have craft fair dates coming up which could be heavily affected by the closure so we are just hoping people turn out.

“It hasn’t affected our wholesale too much but even then it means our drivers are taking longer to make deliveries.”

Meanwhile, Fred Ford, who opened Klondyke Cafe in Halfway Road six years ago, says his business has been affected by passing trade vanishing since the closure.

The 64-year-old, who also opened Sheppey RC Raceway at the site in January, estimates the eatery is £600 worse off every week.

When KentOnline visited at 11am, two tables were finishing up their meals and by 11.30am the cafe was empty. Mr Ford claims his 35 seats would be around three-quarters full normally.

He said: “People have only got a certain amount of time for a lunchbreak, they would call in and have 35-40 minutes something to eat on their way around.

“But with the diversion, which takes anything up to three-quarters of an hour because of the traffic, they’ve lost their time to sit in there for a meal.

“I’ve already got staff on shorter hours just to try to make it all work.

“It’s killed us. I am on the verge of closing the doors and waiting till after the gasworks are done to reopen.”

Fishmonger Francesca Di Cicco, who runs Fishy Frans Fresh Fish and Seaford in the car park of Stones, also says trade has fallen as people are not braving the traffic.

This has led the 28-year-old to throw away around half of her stock.

She explained she has to make orders of at least £1,000 from her supplier but is only seeing around £300 come into her till a week.

She told KentOnline at 12.30pm on Thursday (November 21) that she had only had four customers all day when on a usual day she would have at least 30 customers.

“The closure has had a massive impact on my business as people don’t want to be sitting in traffic to get to me.

“I don’t know why they didn’t shut the road in January when people don’t have money and businesses are quiet.

“It doesn’t make sense, especially as this is our busiest period.”

KentOnline asked SGN why it could not conduct the work in January but it declined to answer that specific question.

Spokesman Waseem Hanif said: “We need to do the work now as the old gas mains are reaching the end of their useful lives.

“Please be advised all local businesses are open as usual and can be accessed via the diversion route.

“This is a complex engineering project and the programme of work has been agreed by the local authority.

“We have no other option but to close the road, as we need to excavate near the centre of the carriageway to access and replace our pipes.

“The close proximity of underground assets near our gas main has also meant our progress has been slower than we hoped and forced us to excavate across the carriageway to lay the new pipe while safely negotiating these other utilities.

“We’d like to thank residents and businesses for their ongoing patience and understanding, and we apologise for the disruption caused by our work.”

A spokeswoman for Kent Highways said: "Despite being the highways authority, we do not have the authority or powers to plan and control utility company works.

“Under legislation, utility companies have an absolute right to access their equipment for inspections, repairs and replacement work.

“All utility companies need to ensure they have a robust supply of their vital services for their customers, and KCC has absolutely no control over the type and nature of these works.

“Our responsibility is to ensure that works do not conflict with other works on the highway, and that the reinstatement work to the highway meets the required standards.

“If any trader feels they have a claim for compensation, that needs to be directed to the responsible organisation.”