Business owners say that road ‘isn’t strong enough’ to keep coping with large amount of buses

A business owner has called for buses to stop cutting down a Lynn road ridden with potholes amid a council’s £364,000 worth of work.Roy Brain, a managing director of Calvert Brain and Fraulo on Portland Street in Lynn, has expressed concerns to the Lynn News about the condition of the road.He puts it down to numerous buses cutting down Portland Street to get from Lynn’s bus station to the train station.

Mr Brain, whose engineering business has been based at the Portland Street premises for 31 years, has reported several potholes on the road and raised concerns about pollution levels in the area.He questioned why potholes will not be repaired as part of roadworks set to start next week on Portland Street and Blackfriars Road.Mr Brain isn’t alone in his concerns, as the owner of The Lamp Shop, David Herbert, is also not happy with the conditions of the road.

The pair’s concerns arose after Norfolk County Council revealed that on March 10, 12 weeks of work is set to begin to improve accessibility to the bus stop area for both drivers and passengers. The work is part of the council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan. It will include the removal of a kerb build-out on Portland Street and accessibility improvements to existing bus stops on Blackfriars Road.It will also include the installation of an above-ground bus stop line detector – a device that can detect moving and stationary vehicles – reconstruction of a bus stop layby in coloured concrete, resurfacing of Blackfriars Road and updating signing and road markings. However, Mr Brain suggested that buses should be following the one-way system down Railway Road, turning right onto Austin Street and going down Blackfriars Road to avoid causing further damage to Portland Street.Mr Brain said: “The road isn’t strong enough, buses shouldn’t be allowed to go down there. It is the wrong road to use.“My concerns are being ignored by Norfolk County Council. It is worrying that buses are coming up and down the street, breaking up the road. “There are better local projects to invest in. We are spending £364,000 on this – that doesn’t include repairing Portland Street.”Mr Brain also said that the buses accelerating down the road make “a lot of noise and pollution”, noting high levels of pollution in the area of town.He added: “The vibrations from the buses coming down the road have caused my building to develop cracks. There are loads of listed buildings up and down Portland Street.“It is wrong. I don’t often complain about things but I feel like I have no choice.” However, Norfolk County Council said that cash for the project has come from Government funding to support the national bus strategy.The county council added that it is following a strategy to “rebuild passenger confidence in bus services”.Norfolk County Council has confirmed with the Lynn News that the condition of Portland Street has been reported to them.A spokesperson from the council said: “The highway defects on Portland Street have been reported to us and will be repaired as soon as possible through our regular highway maintenance programme.”