Popular Ventnor seafront cafes and pubs affected by road closure

Shore Hill, better known as the Cascades, has a hard closure for up to two weeks due to Southern Water works.

It comes as the other end of the seafront, up past The Spyglass and La Falaise car park, re-opened after several months of being closed.

But the signs are misleading, business owners say, and visitors to the town either think the whole seafront is inaccessible or don't want to use the very steep alternative route.

R​ead more:

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Neil Gibbs, of the Spyglass Inn, said the road closure was "disastrous"for this time of year, and he only received four days' notice it was happening.

He said the big delivery lorries wouldn't be able to use the alternative route as they "won't get back up" the steep road, and no offers of help had been forthcoming.

He said the signage is inadequate and confusing - and lots of people won't drive down to the Esplanade as they can't work out what is open.

This was echoed by Abby Lines, of Blake's Tea Hut, who said her main concern was getting deliveries down to the seafront, and the misleading signage.

She suggested it would be better for the signs at the La Falaise end to say "Esplanade open" instead of "road ahead closed".

Phil Tredwell, of The Mill Bay, said he had emailed Southern Water several times has not had a response as yet.

He said the affect to his business would be considerable.

Rosie Gibbs, of The Met Bar, said on Monday morning she could already see the impact as she had virtually no customers - unusual for her business - and there weren't many cars parked along the Esplanade.

Island Roads and Southern Water have been approached for comment and we have asked for details about the nature of the works.