RETAIL tenants at an Evanston shopping precinct are worried continual roadworks on Main North Road could see more shops pack up and leave, after a second business at the centre recently went into liquidation.

A sign outside the Dreamland Gawler store at the Gawler Parks Homemaker Centre confirmed Timothy James Clifton, of insolvency firm Clifton Hall, was appointed liquidator of the store on November 20, 2019.

It is now the second store to enter liquidation in the centre this year, after Mick’s Motorcycles in August.

The Homemaker Centre, and neighbouring Gawler Green shopping centre, have been put under pressure by continual roadworks on Main North Road as part of the Gawler East Link Road and Tulloch Road intersection projects, which have been ongoing since November last year.

At one stage, full access to the Homemaker Centre was blocked by the construction, but was opened up again last week.

That’s Furniture and Bedding owner Anne-Marie Ats blamed difficulty accessing the centre for her store’s foot traffic being down an estimated 90 per cent.

“Our figures have dropped dramatically,” she said.

“Dreamland is closed now and it’s (the roadworks) just causing dramatic business loss. I can’t see why they can’t do it at night time.

“At one stage there was only one road in and you couldn’t get out the same way – it’s detrimental.

Mrs Ats added business owners were also concerned by the lack of communication from the State Government regarding how much longer the roadworks will take.

Another business owner Peter Wormald, of Im-press Promotions Gawler, understood the benefits the two projects would bring, but had noticed continual hits to his bottom line each month.

“We’re hoping that once it’s all done there will be some long-term gain for some short-term pain,” he said.

“We were 25 per cent down in November and 20 per cent down in October.

“As soon as they opened up the centre for in and out traffic again, the next day was busier in the shop straight away.”

Mr Wormald added the time length and amount of money being spent on the project also bothered him.

“They’re not getting the deadlines they said they would and its way behind,” he said.

“The traffic management personnel on this project is just ridiculous. There will be two people holding slow signs standing next to each other.

“It must be costing us a fortune in taxpayers’ money just in traffic management.

“People cross Murray Street every day without a slow sign. The traffic has already been slowed, surely people can get across here without someone standing there and telling them to go.”

The next stage of roadworks are set to continue through until April, after stage one of the project was recently completed.

The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure was contacted for comment, but failed to provide a response before The Bunyip’s print deadline.