AN embattled Newton Abbot garden centre owner has claimed he has had to make staff redundant at one of his stores impacted by major roadworks.

Tony Joyner, owner of Plants Galore, said he has had to “make a number of good staff redundant… through no fault of their own and also cut staff hours”.

He says the job losses are down to the loss of sales at his store, which he claims has been caused by the A382 closure.

Mr Joyner, who has been in a long-running dispute around a compulsory purchase of land linked to the major works on the A382, said the company’s four other stores in Devon and Somerset “continue to expand and go forward”.

He said: ‘But our Newton Abbot store is significantly impacted by the enforced road closure, which means no general passing trade, no passing tourists who stop off and pop in for bargains, and the road closure just makes running the centre very difficult.’

Closures on the A382 were planned for two years to complete the final stages of work, which includes widening the A382 between Stover (Ice House Copse) and Forches Cross – where Plants Galore is – to” increase capacity, ease congestion and improve safety”, according to Devon County Council.

A pedestrian and cycle route will link to Stover School and the A382/A383 Link Road and a new roundabout will be developed north of Forches Cross, while the Jetty Marsh II Link Road connection will provide a new road between Whitehill Cross and West Golds Way, and a shared pedestrian and cycle path.

Mr Joyner recently claimed that Devon County Council had not yet paid him for land it took control of under a compulsory purchase order (CPO) due to the works on the A382.

The saga stretches back to 2010 when shortly after securing planning permission for a prospective “luxury six-bedroom” family home on the now contentious land, Mr Joyner was informed of the CPO.

He states he was told not to build the property because it would not be included in any financial settlement linked to the CPO if he did.

This led Mr Joyner and his family to move to his parents’ house in 2014, building a temporary property there in the belief they would soon receive a payment for the land.

Besides meeting representatives on site twice when works were taking place, Mr Joyner claims he has “never been invited to discuss a financial offer – ever”, and most recently claimed Devon County Council pulled out of a meeting at the last minute on June 19 “with no explanation”.

“We have still not received any financial offer as legally required to have happened when they took our land,” he said.

“There is no explanation why.”

Mr Joyner said he had contacted his local councillor, Jacqueline Fry, to arrange a meeting with her, adding that he is considering launching legal claims for compensation in relation to the land and for the loss of trade during the A382 works.

A spokesperson for Devon County Council said it was unable to comment on individual matters.