Support our village amenities or risk losing them

With repairs to Sutton Bridge not likely to happen for an estimated eight to 12 weeks, traders in the village are warning residents that they will have to close their doors if custom continues to dwindle.

In particular Elvington Village Store and the petrol station and garage have been hit hard by the huge drop in passing traffic. The Grey Horse could well be affected in the long term and numerous businesses must be facing more difficult times due to the closure.

Owners of both the shop and garage were heard on BBC Radio York telling listeners that they simply could not continue in business for such a long period of time with such a depleted customer base.

Mike Ball, principal engineer at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, also appeared on BBC Radio York, admitting that the repairs could be some time off. He was quoted as saying: " It is a more protracted job than would normally be the case.

"We have to get the consent of English Heritage with the stone we can put back. Now, that's going to take some weeks to do.

"We can't put the safety of people in Sutton on Derwent and Elvington at risk because of bad workmanship, we have to make sure it's done correctly."

Wheter or not you usually use the village's amenities, please try and use them now to see them through this difficult time, or we risk losing them altogether.

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Click here to listen to the BBC Radio York show:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p005yxrc/Jonathan_Cowap_19_01_2010/

Below are (roughly) the most relevant times during the show:

Tom (at Shop) 0.24.13
Roy (at Garage)  0.38.00
Helen Smith (Resident) 0.41.20
Full feature (including response from East Riding)  2.06.30