'It will kill this town': High street to close for six weeks with 50-mile diversion

'It will kill this town': High street to close for six weeks with 50-mile diversion5 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleGiancarlo RinaldiSouth Scotland reporterBBCCharles Brown runs a newsagent near to the Tolbooth MuseumTraders say they fear the impact of a six-week closure of the main road through their town - with a 50-mile (80km) diversion - could be "catastrophic". The A76 through Sanquhar is to be shut completely from 1 June in order to allow improvements to the stonework on the historic Tolbooth Museum.Shopkeepers said that would affect deliveries and passing trade, potentially costing them hundreds of pounds a day.Dumfries and Galloway Council said it was working to minimise disruption and signs would be put in place confirming that local businesses were open as normal throughout the work.The road narrows significantly next to the category A-listed buildingThe category A-listed Tolbooth, which was built between 1735 and 1737, stands adjacent to the A76 - a main route linking Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.The road narrows significantly at that point which the council said meant complete closure was necessary to ensure the safety of road users and workers.Work is due to start on 18 May with traffic managed by temporary lights for the first two weeks.However, from 1 June until 10 July a full closure will be put in place.Emma Gilchrist said she was worried about deliveries getting to her store during the road closureCharles Brown, who has run C&M Brown newsagents just a stone's throw from the Tolbooth for more than two decades, said the impact would be huge."We heavily depend on footfall, passing trade - all the High Street is the same, all the traders are the same," he said."We're already struggling as it is with the way the economy is at the moment."And to close the road for six weeks - totally close it - it's just going to kill this town."Local access will be maintained throughout b...