The closure of Wanborough Road in the name of expanding Swindon is taking a heavy toll on the local businesses of a nearby village. 

The main route into Wanborough from Swindon has been completely shut off to traffic for a number of months as part of preparations for a housing development that will make up some of the 6,000+ houses in the New Eastern Villages development. 

Landlords from The Brewers Arms and The Harrow recently spoke to the Adver about the loss of business being caused by this road closure with them warning that "the future is looking bleak".

READ MORE: Landlords warn Wanborough road closures are 'killing' pub trade.

This is even with the proposed reopening of the road in November to allow pubs to get a Christmas trade before it will close again in January.

Now, Sanjay Dogra who recently took over as landlord of The Harrow on the village High Street has gone one step further and labelled the roadworks as worse for his business than the Covid pandemic.

READ MORE: Wanborough pub announces it will permanently close

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "Business is very bad at the moment. It's worse than lockdown. During lockdown the government was there to help," he said.

"The road is closed and since then we are in second lockdown. We are trying hard but we need customers."

He added that people had been put off from visiting because of the need to go through Dorcan onto Commonead Roundabout to get into the village, and were cancelling bookings. 

The road was initially only supposed to be closed for 12 weeks, to allow for pavements to be built along it as part of the 370-home Redlands development.

But this has been extended due to the discovery of Roman remains underneath, which have needed to be inspected and documented by archaeologists. 

This isn't the only major roadwork in the village though, as The Marsh which connects upper and lower Wanborough, and Pack Hill, another direct route into the village, are the subject of ongoing work as well. 

Currently, motorists trying to get onto the Wanborough High Street are expected to divert from Commonhead Roundabout through Liddington - a diversion that adds many miles to the journey. 

As well as The Harrow and the Brewers Arms, the village is also home to The Plough and the New Calley Arms. 

Its fifth pub, The Cross Keys, has just announced its permanent closure.