BYE Street will be closed to traffic to allow the steel frame to go up for a £750,000 office and shops development.

Signs have gone up advertising a five day road closure from Sunday, from The Homend junction to St Katherine's car park. The car park will not be closed.

However, Herefordshire Council says it has only given permission for Sunday and Monday, from 9.30am to 3.30pm and expects that to be adhered to. County traffic management officer Andy Fox said permission to close the road was given on the understanding that most of the work will be done on Sunday.

Herefordshire councillor for Ledbury, Barry Ashton said: "I would be very unhappy about a week's closure of that road to facilitate a private development. It is a major feeder road for the town."

Four shops with flats above are being built on the site of the former Depot building by Malvair Properties and should be finished by the spring.

Developer Roger Allsop, of Wellington Heath, said the project was running a month behind schedule because the council had already objected to a road closure before Christmas.

He said he understood the logic of that decision, because of Christmas trade, but added that he believes his road closure permission does run to five days, starting on Sunday.

Mr Allsop said: "We should do the work in two days anyway, unless we have extreme weather. But if we do run over, the best thing to do is to go on and finish the task."

Trader Tina Mitchell, of Balloon Magic, welcomed the development and her sister, Teresa Potter of Utopia hairdressers, said of the new flats and shops: "We can't wait to see them up!"

But Mrs Mitchell was worried that, with no signs about the closure on the bypass, coaches and delivery lorries might find themselves in a dead end next week. She said: "Once they reach this bit, they are stuck."