GLOUCESTERSHIRE County Council have backed down at the eleventh hour on a decision which could have caused chaos to one of the most important industrial estate complexes in the Forest of Dean.

Just days before Church Road, Lydney, was to be blocked off for six hours from today until next Monday, the council have decided to ‘listen to businesses’ and will now resurface the cul-de-sac overnight.

However, at the start of this week, businesses, including major companies like the Royal Mail, James Bevan Ltd, who operate buses in the region, Watts Aviation Services that make tyres for aircraft and the global Glatfelter organisation, which is a supplier of specialist paper and engineering products, were facing shutdown.

They are all situated on industrial estates off Church Road and Mead Lane that has one route in and one route out – that which the county council wanted to resurface.

And businesses who had contacted the county council believed the area was heading for chaos as the council would not give way.

In an email to one major business, seen by The Forester, Veronica Hale, the county council’s stakeholder manager for highways, insisted resurfacing during 9.30am and 3.30pm each day from today until Monday could not be changed as they were in their plan of works.

On Monday, companies on the industrial estates concerned were bracing themselves to be marooned for four days, potentially costing thousands of pounds in revenue.

James Bevan, joint managing director of James Bevan Ltd, said: “We have asked about working on the weekends because of the disruption and because there are so many businesses down here.

“She (Mrs Hale) said no they can’t. The road will be closed and you could be prosecuted if you force your way through there.”

Mr Paul Worsfold, manager of the Royal Mail’s Lydney delivery office, had also tried to contact the local authority to find out how his vans would return to the premises during the afternoons that the work was taking place.

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK’S FORESTER