The Fish Inn in Ringwood's plea in light of A31 roadworks

The message from The Fish Inn comes ahead of months of disruption in and around Ringwood with National Highways' lane widening scheme on the A31.

The on-slip road for the A31 westbound, which took traffic past the pub, was shut off ahead of the major project.

In recent weeks, road closures and initial site work has had an impact on trade in the town.

Jude Karelus, general manager of The Fish Inn, which is run by Butcombe Pubs & Inns, said: “Since the works started all access to our pub from the main road has been cut off meaning all of our passing trade has been lost.

The Fish Inn in Ringwood

"Those driving to the south west can no longer easily call in for lunch or dinner which is having a massive impact on us and on Ringwood in general. However, the good news is that we’re still very much open and welcoming guests as usual"

As reported, National Highways, formerly Highways England, plans to introduce a third lane westbound to improve traffic flow between Ringwood and Ashley Heath.

• Read more: County council advises drivers to avoid the A31 during works

Works include replacing the bridges that carry the road over the River Avon and Bickerley Millstream. Engineers are already on site but main construction starts in January 2022 with the project expected to last most of the year.

The Fish Inn in Ringwood

To mitigate the loss in passing trade the Fish Inn team has implemented a raft of new initiatives to attract customers and to remind locals and visitors they are till open for business.

• A31 closures latest: What you need to know

This includes daily specials, a new autumn classic menus, a 25 per cent discount on Wednesdays by downloading the Butcombe app, live music twice a month on the second and fourth Friday evening of the month and a quiz with the next taking place on December 7 at 8pm.