A Cornwall councillor has called for work to stop on the controversial scheme to narrow Newham Road on the grounds it’s creating “traffic chaos”.

Cllr Rob Nolan, Liberal Democrat councillor for the Truro Redannick division, was speaking out after businesses on the industrial estate also slammed the disruption caused by temporary traffic lights.

The work is intended to make way for a widened cycle and pedestrian path, but has caused delays of more than 20 minutes to travel a mile across Newham at certain times of the day.

Businesses have also complained they haven’t received any details from Cornwall Council or its civil engineering contractor, Cormac, about the road works and how long they will last.

Work was halted in May following action instigated by Newham BID – which promotes and supports the business location – due to safety concerns. The council announced last month that the work recommence on the Truro Loops project to encourage greener transport links into the city.

Newham BID chair Leigh Ibbotson said: “These works are causing chaos on the estate and it’s taking more than 20 minutes to get across Newham. Businesses were already unhappy that the council decided to charge ahead with its project despite widespread opposition. Now they are furious.

“It’s not just the delays, inconvenience and added costs; it’s the fact that despite assurances to the BID and businesses on Newham, no information has been provided about the programme of works, so everyone is in the dark.

“In the meantime, deliveries are being delayed, there has been at least one accident with a lorry reversing into a building through lack of access, and carbon emissions must be going through the roof as traffic stands idle.”

Mr Ibbotson said the BID had invited the council’s new transport portfolio holder, Cllr Richard Pears-Williams, to visit Newham and hear about its concerns, but it is still awaiting a response.

In the meantime, the BID is working with “a number of interested parties” to review the legal position before deciding upon its next steps. “We, and businesses across the estate, maintain that this scheme will increase the danger to road users and pedestrians in Newham and impact negatively on local businesses.”

Cllr Nolan tweeted a photo of traffic backed up by the entrance to the city’s Tesco store, adding: “Chaos at Newham! Despite all the businesses at Newham being against it, work has started on narrowing the road. Tesco finds its entrance blocked, and we’re not even consulted! Why aren’t these roadworks happening at night? If they even need to happen!”

He went on to tell The Voice: “These works need to stop now. Tesco have between 4,000 and 4,500 cars entering their premises every day, and are predicting gridlock for Truro when they hit peak shopping time on Friday afternoon. This is just bad for struggling businesses and bad for Truro.

“I’m told that when this ‘exploratory’ hole is done they’ll be moving the lights and doing ‘most’ work at night. If daytime work is done, they’ll be manually operating the lights. I’ve asked for clarification of ‘most’.”

Residents of Truro have also been critical of the work, with one person posting on a Facebook page dedicated to the city, claiming the work “is also having a knock-on effect with traffic queuing along the dual carriageway between Trafalgar Roundabout and the Tesco roundabout”.

Another responded: “Been like this all week. I work on Newham and it’s literally a nightmare to get to currently. Hopefully it gets done quick as all schools are back and the traffic will be chaos.”

Not everyone is against the work, though. One Truro resident responded to Cllr Nolan’s tweet, saying: “I get that’s it inconvenient, but I can’t wait for the road to be narrowed. Vehicles have previously thundered along through Newham ignoring all the speed limits. Once it’s done, I suspect people will wonder what the fuss was all about.”

Cornwall Council announced last month: “Following discussions held over recent months with Newham BID, the council has issued a formal decision to recommence works on the walking and cycling improvement scheme on Truro’s Newham Road. This decision has been made having full regard to the concerns raised by the Newham BID regarding the width of the road.

“The council has conducted further detailed safety analysis to produce a revised scheme design that retains the important walking and cycling objectives of the scheme while also ensuring a road width that enables the safe passage of vehicular traffic. An important factor in reaching this decision has been the need to balance the needs of all users of the route, which forms part of the wider, city-wide, Town Deal and Truro Loops project.”

Cornwall Council and the new portfolio holder for transport Cllr Richard Pears-Williams have been contacted for comment on the current concerns.