Furious traders angry at the way a main shopping street in Coventry was closed without any warning have won a concession to tempt customers back through the chaos.

Walsgrave Road running through the Ball Hill shopping area in Stoke shut in January for repairs to the road and footpath and tree maintenance.

A section of the busy street has been closed to traffic since then, with a diversion in place.

But residents living near the closure and traders in shops on the street were not told in advance about the 12-week disruption.

Coventry City Council has now agreed to make parking in the nearby Clay Lane car park free until the work ends later this month.

The pay machines in Clay Lane Car Park have been bagged over to allow free parking to take place.

A spokesperson for the city council said:

“The reconstruction work being carried out on Walsgrave Road is progressing well and it is likely that Walsgrave Road will be re-opened during Saturday 17 March 2001 and the remainder of the work to the footpaths be completed shortly after.”

SEE [07 MAR 01] CITY ROADS ON ROUTE TO REPAIR