NORTH Yorkshire Council will not offer any financial compensation to a business owner affected by the A59 closure despite her losing £2,000 a week due to the repairs.

Kate Bailey is the owner of Dalesway Cafe, which stands by the roadside of the A59 on the outskirts of Skipton.

But the immediate closure of the road at Kex Gill due to a landslip more than eight weeks ago has led to a huge decrease in earnings, forced her to cut the opening hours and led to four members of staff being let go.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service visited the cafe before Easter to speak with Ms Bailey. She described the current period as “heartbreaking” for her business.

She pleaded with the council to offer financial compensation for the loss of earnings brought on by the closure, particularly as the road is not set to reopen until June.

Since the initial story was published, her plea has been backed on social media with residents calling on the council to compensate Ms Bailey and other businesses affected by the closure.

But North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, has poured cold water on these hopes saying “there is no legal requirement” to give money for road closures.

He said instead, the council will offer those affected “general business advice”.

Mr Battersby said in a statement: “We appreciate that the closure of the A59 is having a significant impact on businesses, commuters and residents, and we sincerely apologise for this disruption.

“There is no legal requirement under the Highways Act to pay compensation as a result of disruption caused by highways works, but we are doing all we can to complete the repair as quickly and safely as possible.

“In the meantime, we are speaking to individual local businesses to see if they would like general business advice. We will keep the public updated as work progresses.”

Ms Bailey told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was not impressed by the council’s response regarding compensation.

She said: “I’m not only outraged but I’m saddened and dismayed by this response from the council. If they take as long a time to give me business advice as they did to give me a response [to the initial road closure], then I’m afraid that I won’t have a business left by the time they get here.”