LOCAL business owners say the ongoing closure of the A466 between Tintern and St Arvans is ’wreaking havoc’ with their trade and are pressing the county council to speed up the job.

The stretch of road has been closed since 7th May for Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) to undertake stabilisation works of a 200m section of cliff face. It means that, in the height of the tourist season, diversion signs are encouraging motorists to avoid the picturesque Wye Valley route completely and follow the A48 via Lydney as an alternative.Monmouth MP David Davies recently met with Community Councillor Rita Edwards to discuss the situation.Following a site visit, Mr Davies said: "The continued closure of the road is causing devastation for businesses in Tintern. There are ways through but as we can see, the alternative routes are narrow and in very poor condition".In response to concerns raised by Tintern Community Council and local businesses, MCC has made available extended working hours and weekend working to ensure the works are completed as quickly as possible.But Mr Davies is calling for answers after some local people told him that they had walked the route and noticed that nobody seemed to be working there.Community Councillor Rita Edwards explained that businesses are "desperate for the work to be finished and for improvements to be made to the other roads in the area which are falling apart".She also highlighted issues with poor signage in the area, with "one sign warning people not to rely on their satnavs - yet nobody in the area seems to know what it means".The site is said to have ecological complications and has required appropriate assessments and licensing to be put in place before any works could proceed.The road closure between St Arvans and Tintern is expected to last for up to seven weeks.At the end of September last year the A466 between Redbrook and Bigsweir Bridge was closed for ten weeks by Gloucestershire Highways Department to allow for repairs after a rock embankment became fractured and began falling onto the road below.The closure was said then to be causing major disruption for local people and visitors to the area, with local businesses, particularly in Tintern and Llandogo, having almost no passing trade.