The timing of roadworks which have severely hit weekend trade in Epping in the run up to Christmas was set by Essex County Council, it has emerged.

Retailers have said that congestion in the town has affected businesses for months, but traffic “havoc” has effectively closed Epping High Street on the last two Saturdays.

Roadworks at the High Road junction with Theydon Road, by Bell Common, have been blamed.

The National Grid has been installing a gas supply to the Wensley House care home and was advised to carry out the work on Saturdays by the council.

The decision was made due to the works’ proximity to the M25, which is busier on weekdays, but retailers have said that Saturday roadworks have been hitting Christmas sales badly.

Kyri Pourikou has owned Vanilla, a children’s clothes shop in High Street, for more than 30 years.

 He said: “Why start doing road works before Christmas?

“I have never seen anything like this. You try to talk to the council but they do not really care.”

Councillor Christ Whitbread is the leader of Epping Forest District Council and also works on the High Street, and he believes that the road is “vital” to the district.

He said: “We see the High Street as an important part of the local economy.

“The traffic is frustrating from a businessman’s point of view and as a Councillor, because we want the town to do well in the run-up to Christmas.”

He added that “in an ideal world” the roadworks would be carried out at a different time, but he said that perhaps there was no good time to suit everyone.

A spokeswoman for Essex County Council said that the council apologised for any inconvenience, but the work had to be carried out on Saturdays due to “traffic sensitivity” in the area.