Bad signs for town as A7 closure hits local shops
Last updated 21:56, Wednesday, 16 July 2008
YET again, the people of Langholm are facing difficulties over which they have little or no control.LAST night (Thursday, July 10) I went on the BBC website and what did I see?
The landslip near Auchenrivock, especially at this time of the year, is a disaster for the town, for the people who live here and the businesses that strive to survive here.
Trade at some of our own businesses has dropped more than 20 per cent in recent days and, although part of this may have been attributable to the inclement weather, most was because of the loss of the passing trade.
As usual, the advance warning signs on the surrounding roads and motorways are urging travellers to avoid Langholm and, although many locals might appreciate the quieter High Street, it will become really quiet when all the shops have to close because of the lack of business.
One has only to look at Lockerbie where the small shopkeepers’ trade was devastated, although for a different reason, to see the effects that the loss of trade to small businesses will have on a town.
Immediate steps should be taken to properly signpost the closure of the A7 by telling motorists that local diversions are in place rather than “use the M74”.
Rerouting HGVs so that they approach the town from the west or the north is the only sensible option.
I am sure that Langholm folk will rise to the occasion and support businesses at this time, not least because of the extra difficulties of the route to Carlisle but also because the fast-rising cost of petrol makes it an expensive journey.
All businesses in Langholm seek to provide products and services that meet customers’ requirements but if there is anything that is needed but is not currently available I would encourage customers to make businesses aware of the fact so that we can serve our customers better.
On the brighter side, one assumes that with the road being closed anyway, there will not be any cost to be paid by the town for its closure on Common Riding Day.
Andrew Scott
Director
Langholm Properties Limited
42-44 High Street
Langholm
An item on the landslip on the A7.
These things happen. It will be an inconvenience but what would life be without challenges? However, the reported comments by Denis Male do a great disservice to this community.
His description of an “absolute disaster” couldn't be further from the mark; the people of Langholm are made of better stuff than to be quashed by a road closure.
A disaster is a landslip that covers half the town killing generations of children (Aberfan) or a plane crash on a town killing hundreds (Lockerbie).
Get a grip councillor. Show the world what Langholm is made of; we're not wimps that fall apart because a road is closed.
T Deeson
Caulfield
Langholm
