Pub owners in a rural part of Carmarthenshire fear a two-month road closure could be the “tipping point that finishes us off completely” because many customers will have to tackle long diversions to reach them, says Wales Online.

A relatively small section of the B4310 between Nantgaredig and Brechfa has been shut in both directions from for a period of up to two months. The closure will be in place near the tiny village of Felingwm Isaf, impacting traffic heading south towards the main A40 that connects Carmarthen with Llandelio and north towards Felingwm Uchaf and Brechfa.

Despite the road only being closed for a short distance, it means that motorists will face diversions in both directions because they will not be able to travel directly between a number of villages. 

Carmarthenshire Council has said the closure is necessary “to ensure public safety” whilst workers remove vegetation and construct a concrete block. But for people who run local businesses along the affected route, the closure could not be coming at a worse time.

“We have worked so hard on our business to build it up and we have so many bookings pencilled in for January and February,” said Kathryn Jones, owner of the Forest Arms in Brechfa.

“We had charity events lined up, bookings in place for 10, 12, 18 people. About 90% of our customers come up to Brechfa from the Nantgaredig area, where the A40 turns off. They are not going to want to do a 40-minute detour to get here.

“There are various back roads that people can use but those roads are in such a bad state after the bad weather we’ve had in the run-up to Christmas and they are only going to get worse if everyone has to travel on them.

“The whole thing just hasn’t really been thought through. Children living up here (in the Brechfa area) don’t even know how they are going to get to school.”

Ms Jones thinks business owners like herself should have been consulted or at least notified directly about the closure, given that it will undoubtedly impact their ability to trade.

“The first I knew of it was when I passed a sign on the road on the way towards Brechfa from the A40,” she said. “One of the signs says ‘businesses open as normal’. But how are we supposed to function as normal when people can’t get to us?

“And there isn’t even a sign at the turning from the A40 – you have to travel up a fair distance before you see a sign that the road ahead will be closed.”

(Picture: Mapillary)