The owner of a popular pick-you-own farm in Wokingham has hit out at misleading signs pointing to a road closure – and sought to reassure the public that he is still open for business.
Heathlands Road is currently undergoing carriageway repair works, meaning road closures are in place to enable contractors to work in safety. But the works couldn’t have come at a worse time for the owner of Grays Farm: this weekend is normally his busiest of the year as raspberries come into crop and schools prepare for the summer.
The roadworks will take place in two phases, with this week’s work taking place from the junction of Nine Mile Ride to Wyevale Garden Centre.
The second phase runs from the river bridge north of Holme Grange Craft Village to the entrance of Holme Grange School.
Signs originally erected at both ends of Heathlands Road imply that the road is completely closed, but work is taking place during off-peak hours of 9.30am and 4pm and businesses are still accessible. However, after The Wokingham Paper contacted Wokingham Borough Council, additional signs have been erected showing the correct times of the road closures.
Peter Gray, who runs Grays Farm, told The Wokingham Paper that it would be better for the works to have taken place in the autumn, when his Pick Your Own season has finished for the year.
He also wrote to the council expressing his concerns that the first he knew about the closure was when the signs went up and the timing of the closure is very serious. Now he is trying to get the word out that it’s business as usual.
He said: “It’s the peak of the season, we’re just starting raspberries. We should be very busy, especially with the weather.
“The road being closed now is very serious, to compound it the signs aren’t clear, the signs say closed for two weeks. The signs are not that clear it’s open at the beginning and end of the day.
“Saturday should be our busiest day of the year for us, if it’s not raining: the Saturday before the schools break up should be extremely busy.”
Mr Gray is concerned that people “won’t bother coming this way” but, he added, “We’re still accessible – very much so. I hope people will come round.”
He stressed the popular pick-your-own business is “fully open” during the works and said that most items grown on the farm are coming into season.
“The strawberries are superb. They really are excellent top quality at the moment,” he said. “With raspberries we have one variety on the go at the moment, with another two coming online this weekend. It’s a very important time for us.
“We’re now selling new potatoes, broad beans, carrots, beetroot, broccoli, rhubarb spinach all sorts.”
Wokingham Borough Council has confirmed the works on Heathlands Road will lead to off-peak road closures, but runs off-peak – 9.30am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday. The road will be open the rest of the time.
Cllr Malcolm Richards, executive member for highways and transport, said: “Unfortunately signage prior to the work starting on Heathlands Road did not clarify the working hours. The signs has now been changed to show when the road will be closed.
“We apologise for any confusion this may have caused.”
