THREE months of disruption came to an end in Stonehouse on Sunday – but the saga over the High Street roadworks has taken another twist.

Calls have been made for businesses affected to be compensated.

Glen Gogerly, UKIP county council candidate for Stonehouse, is calling for a refund of business rates paid during the three months.

He has also been joined by Stonehouse county councillor Lesley Williams (Labour) in calling for an inquiry into the resurfacing work.

Mr Gogerly said: “A catalogue of errors has led to the town and most importantly many traders facing financial losses, and what can only be described as total chaos.

"Many retailers have said that they have had to use their savings to cover loss of earnings, a situation which cannot be sustained for long.

"I would also like the inquiry to determine whether the present works could have been completed in a more timely manner.”

Mr Gogerly has also requested that Stroud District Council suspend all parking charges leading up to Christmas “to restore confidence in the town”.

The work to make the road more durable started on June 22 and was due to be completed on Sunday.

Temporary traffic lights caused long delays while roadworks caused parking problems.

Cllr Lesley Williams said she welcomed a review where lessons could be learnt.

She said: “It is disappointing that more work had to be done so soon after the initial scheme and although finished within the time predicted it does seem to have taken a very long time.

“Any rate relief and suspension of parking charges are for Stroud District Council to decide and I trust that the town and district councillors who represent Stonehouse will be pressing for any help which might be possible.”

Kathryn Haworth, GCC area highways manager, said: “We’ve been working hard to keep disruption to a minimum while these much needed improvements are made.

“At the request of the town council, we agreed that the work would be done in phases.

"The improvements were always scheduled to last for 12 weeks and the work has been completed on time.

"We have been in contact with businesses and residents throughout these works, and I’d like to thank them for their patience while they took place.”