'Digging disruption on our road is damaging trade'

Business owners have said the digging up of cycle lanes created less than two years ago is damaging trade.

The bike lanes on Manchester Road, Chorlton, which are part of the £13.4m four-mile (6.4km) Manchester to Chorlton Cycleway, were installed in April 2024.

Fed up traders said the road had been dug up for a third time causing a "significant drop" in business.

SP Electricity North West, which commissioned the project, said it was "unavoidable" due to the location of the connection to the power network for a new development.

The cycleway is described as the city's flagship piece of biking infrastructure, taking riders from south Manchester into the city centre, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Shiva Raaval, manager at Lily's Deli, said: "So first they closed the whole road for building the bike lane, and then they dug it up again to do some pipework and now they're digging again for electric pipes.

"They started digging on Saturday afternoon, and the weekends are the busiest days for us," he said, adding the vibrations were causing glasses and tables to shake.

James Madden, owner of bar and cafe 99 Reasons, said the work was stopping people from wanting to sit in the street in front of his business and it was "just bad planning".

Madden said he understood there would be another round of work at some point in the future as internet infrastructure still needed to be installed.

However, he said it would ultimately benefit his business as it was linked to a nearby apartment development, which he hoped would bring in more customers.

Karmal Arafa, print manager at Framing Manchester, said the area had been "quiet" recently, partly due to the impact of the work on traffic.

"It has caused chaos out front here with traffic. A lot of our customers come by car," he said.

A SP Electricity North West spokesperson said it always tried "to avoid cycle lanes, but, due to the location of the new connection, it was unavoidable".

"All the work we carry out is agreed with the council in advance and once complete, we will reinstate the cycle lane to its original condition," they added.

Work is due to be completed by Friday.

Manchester City Council previously said it "sympathised" with those affected throughout the construction of the cycleway. It added there was "a range of urgent and unavoidable delays which took place during the course of the project, which has set its completion back slightly".

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.