Traders on a Norwich street which is to be closed to traffic for two weeks have hit out at the lack of consultation with them about the work.

Businesses on St Giles Street in Norwich are facing up to two weeks of disruption after the road was closed to connect a new customer on the street to the electricity network.

The work means that although St Giles car park will remain open traffic has had to be diverted via Guildhall Hill, St Benedicts and Willow Lane.

And while most traders say they do not mind the work being done if it is necessary they were less pleased about the lack of notice and consultation both with them and the public.

Andrew Cane, owner of Prelude Records, said: 'It's not good for business. In this time of recession we could do without things like this. I'm sure its a necessary piece of work, although we would still like to have been informed better than we have done.'

Howard Zelley, owner of the Zelley jewellery store on the street, said: 'Obviously the road has got to be done, but they could've given us more notice - we got a letter on Friday notifying us.

'It wasn't very clear what the re-routing was going to be so we didn't know which way to tell people to go. We weren't even sure if pedestrians were going to be able to get past, let alone cars.

'We haven't seen many people coming up here but whether that's to do with the weather or the road closure we will have to wait until next week.'

Norwich City Council has put the road closure in place on behalf of UK Power Networks which is carrying out work in the area starting on Sunday <16>.

A spokesman for UK Power Networks said: 'The road was closed from about 8am on Sunday to allow excavation work to begin and it will be necessary for it to remain closed to traffic for up to two weeks.

'Vehicles will still be able to access the multi-storey car park in this road. Pedestrian access will be maintained, and businesses were expected to be opening as normal.

'UK Power Networks has carefully planned this work in liaison with the council, to keep disruption to a minimum. We appreciate this is a busy area and will make every effort to complete the work as quickly as is safely possible, so that the road can be reopened sooner if at all possible.'

A spokesman for Norwich City Council said it was the responsibility of the company carrying out the work to notify everyone who might be affected.

Has your business been affected by a road closure? Call reporter Peter Walsh on 01603 772436 or email peter.walsh@archant.co.uk