As the project to give Birstall a facelift enters the half way stage, the business community believes work is far behind schedule.

Work began on the £1m scheme in June and was expected to last 22 weeks. Councillors believed work would be finished in November so it did not affect trade in the run up to Christmas.

But now traders fear it will have a big impact on their most important months.

Michael Thompson, who owns Sea Spray Fisheries, said: “It’s nowhere near half way through.

“We were told the workers would be putting in longer hours over the summer holidays, but they’re coming to an end now, and we’re fast approaching the embargoed Christmas period.”

Coun Andrew Palfreeman (Con, Birstall and Birkenshaw) told Birstall’s Chamber of Trade Meeting he was surprised work wasn’t more advanced.

Chairing last week’s meeting, butcher Alan Walker said: “If this goes on any longer than 22 weeks people will change their shopping habits. People are already avoiding coming in because of the parking and traffic issues and eventually people will stop even driving through Birstall. It’s an absolute shambles.”

Mr Thompson’s wife, Anne, said if the contractors are still on site by November the traders would miss the vital Christmas custom and its affects would be crippling.

The traders also complained that, since they started meeting six weeks ago, nothing had improved.

Mr Walker said: “We’ve just been given empty promises. We were told the contractors would be doing weekend work before the bank holidays, but it’s just another thing that we didn’t get. Basically we’ve got absolutely nowhere.

“There are still workforce vans parking all day in our parking spaces.”

Coun Palfreeman said: “I have asked the contractors not to park all day in the parking spaces, and I have told the parking wardens to ticket them. The contractors have no more rights to any other visitor to the village.”

Coun Palfreeman said he would invite representatives from highways and from the workforce to attend the chamber’s next meeting to answer traders’ questions.