A road which has been closed for months is causing the "desecration" of a Suffolk village - causing lengthy delays, loss of trade for businesses and forcing the owners of the village shop to put it up for sale.
Residents in the village of Elmsett have been left feeling "cut off" by the road closures.
Hadleigh Road, Elmsett, and the adjoining The Street in Aldham collapsed in October last year, leaving villagers in Elmsett having to take single-lane tracks out of the village.
Mr Downes said: "Our five to seven-minute journey to Hadleigh from Elmsett now takes 20 minutes via the single-track lane through Whatfield, or the other route through Hintlesham.
"The main Whatfield road has also closed today, so the only way out of Elmsett is to go via Hintlesham, which takes around 40 minutes.
"I think everybody in the village feels cut off. It's not just a detour, it's a detour on single-track roads."
Mr Downes added that the village shop had been put up for sale in the wake of the road closures.
This newspaper reported last month how Sasha Lawrence and Julian Edwards, owners of the Elmsett village stores, felt they had been left with no choice but to sell up.
They described the closures as "totally destroying" their business, with revenue dropping by 21% on the day the road closure was put in place, followed by losses of 37%.
Mr Downes added: "The shop is now up for sale, as people are not stopping there due to the road closure, meaning we will all have to travel further for our shopping.
"We have major problems. This is like desecration of a small village."
A spokesperson from Suffolk Highways at Suffolk County Council said: "The road closure is in place on Hadleigh Road/The Street, Elmsett so we can complete road repairs and is due to reopen tonight (Wednesday, February 21).
"We are sorry for the disruption caused by the ongoing road closure in place on The Street, Aldham.
"Suffolk Highways continues to progress these works as a priority and will look for opportunities to get these completed as soon as possible."
The spokesperson added that it is hoped an update can be provided next week regarding the repairs.
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