FEARS are growing that Castletown could become a ‘ghost town’ as roadworks stop cars and pedestrians from getting in.

The road and pedestrian access via Castle Road into Castletown has been blocked off to allow for roadworks to be done.

Pedestrians now face a detour of around 10 or 15 minutes and car drivers face a four or five-minute delay.

The aim is to complete the Castletown Link Road, which was part of a property development on Castle Road, Portland, before the 2012 Olympic sailing events.

Dorset County Council highways department said they were removing the road surface and raising the kerb before rebuilding the road.

But Paul Dawson and Helen Dolby from Castle-town Stores said that the area had become ‘like a ghost town’ since the roadworks began and they were down on trade for the time of year with several more weeks of disruption to go.

Mr Dawson said: “It’s as though the ordinary people of Portland and Weymouth don’t count.

“There’s no consideration of the ordinary people, the businesses trying to make a go of things in quite austere times, the people that live and visit here.”

He added: “Income from passing trade should be at its highest and it’s like a ghost village.”

Mrs Dolby took over the shop in February last year and says she has slowly built trade up.

She said: “The trade’s been getting better as I have been getting better known. But now it’s like a ghost town. There’s no passing trade. People don’t want to do the detour to come into Castletown.”

Mrs Dolby added: “Busin-ess is absolutely dire.”

One worker in Castle-town, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s literally like a ghost town.”

They added: “If the road remains shut I think trade will be down.”

Pedestrian access 'would not be safe'

Dorset County Council highway improvements management engineer Emma Baker said: “Unfortunately, we are not able to maintain pedestrian access during the works. We normally do try and keep footways open by constructing one half of the road at a time.

“However, in this case we will be working on the full width of the road, removing the complete surface including kerbs, before raising the levels by up to 0.6 metres and rebuilding the road. It will not be safe to permit access to the public.”

She added: “The closure of Castle Road was programmed to be in place until June 1. However, at the request of London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), the construction programme has been accelerated and we are now aiming to have Castle Road open to traffic and pedestrians on May 18.”