CONCERNS that businesses will 'suffer' during three months of roadworks in central Reading have come from nearby neighbours.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) spoke to residents and businesses about the planned works on Vastern Road and Lynmouth Road due to take place next year

The firm held a community meeting on Monday with details about works which are expected to run from January to late March.

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The works will enable the development of residential properties on Reading’s Vastern Road by housebuilder Berkeley Homes.

Julia Lyons, owner of Fanny's Antiques on Lynmouth Road, raised concerned that her business will suffer during this time.

She said: “I will get no customers.

"They wont bother to come down.

“It’s not just me, I have got 29 stall holders, because it’s an emporium and it’s them that will suffer.”

During excavation works on Lynmouth Road, 30m of the road, or five parking spaces, will be dug up before being filled in and the process repeated further along the road.

The loss of five parking spaces at a time raised concerns with residents.

One mother, who has two children under the age of two, said: “My biggest concern is probably not being able to park my car and get my kids safely into my house. This is because I can’t fit my double buggy into my house so my buggy stays in the car and how do you get a baby and a toddler into a house with just two arms?

"You can’t do it."

The mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, added: “If a contingency plan can be put into place then I’m fine with it because the roadworks have to be done, but if they can't then there’s going to be a bit of a problem.”

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SSEN explained they have not finalised what will happen with parking yet and will continue to update with residents nearer the time.

Traffic was also a concern raised by residents with one person explaining travel would take much longer.

The roadworks will include initial excavation works on Lynmouth Road and a section of Vastern Road to allow for the diversion of the underground cables.

The works on Lynmouth Road will be carried out under a temporary traffic management system for safety reasons. Vastern Road will have a closure affecting the bus lane, to minimise the impact on traffic flow.

SSEN’s project manager Emmanuel Aliu said: "The project and the traffic management system has been carefully planned to minimise disruption to road users and reduce any possible noise levels for local residents.”

SSEN said it will endeavour to carry out the project with 'as minimal an impact as possible' and 'fully understands the importance of minimising disruption, enhancing safety and enabling the provision of a safe and reliable supply for this future development'.

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Works will be carried out Monday to Saturday from 8am until 4pm and there are no planned outages.

Residents will have 100per cent access to Lynmouth Road and pavements all day.

SSEN will meet with the council later this month where working dates will be confirmed.