SHOPS and a taxi firm have warned of “chaos” during the 16-week closure of Mill Street in Wantage.

Pensioners who use taxis to get to the shops or the health centre could be hit hardest by the closure which began on Monday, one cab firm said.

Oxfordshire County Council closed the road on Monday and it will stay closed from 7.30am to 5pm, seven days a week, while new gas mains are laid.

Gas firm SGN, which is carrying out the work, will temporarily lift the closure over the Christmas period, from December 7, then start again on January 9.

Taxi driver Denise Webb, who works for Grove Cabs, warned customers to prepare for “chaos” as drivers would have to follow diversions to their usual routes.

She said: “I just wanted to warn people what a nuisance it’s going to be.

“To have to go all around the houses to drop people off, it’s going to cost a fortune and it’s a shame. We do a lot of taking older people to the shops or to the day centre so it will cost a few quid more each time.”

The Buzz Cafe in Mill Street was so worried about the effect of closure on business it has decided to open on Sundays for the first time to make up the loss in trade.

Assistant manager Karen Barnes said: “We’ve cut one hour of opening off the end of each weekday to make up the five hours of Sunday and we’ve been trying to get flyers and leaflets out to let people know.

“Monday was really, really quiet, and all the workmen were doing was putting markings and scaffolding on the road.”

The Buzz, which opened in April last year, is one of many new businesses to open in Mill Street in the past two years.

Jill Hall, who runs M&A Electricals with her husband Peter, said she was worried because September was one of the shop’s busiest times of year when people come in to buy lights for the winter. However Steve Mills, who runs Lenny’s Lizards, said he thought customers on foot might find it easier to get across a temporarily car-free Mill Street to his shop.

Mayor of Wantage St John Dickson said it was “very disappointing” the gas firm could not have kept at least one side of the road open during the work.

SGN said it is planning to spend £125,000 replacing old metal gas mains with new plastic pipe “to ensure a continued safe and reliable gas supply to the local area”. Spokeswoman Chloe Boyce said: “A two-way road closure is required to ensure the safety of the public and our engineers. However, access to local businesses and for residents will be maintained.”

She said the road would be closed in two sections: phase one will be between Grove Street and The Wharf, and phase two will be between The Wharf and Denchworth Road.

The firm has a compensation scheme for businesses that lose trade due to work.

See sgn.co.uk