TWO Stokesley business women are seeking compensation from a local authority, after expected takings at their furnishings shop fell £4,000 during six weeks of street repair work.

Kate Reilly and Charlotte Emmerson, of Reilly and Emmerson Living, claim the timing of the Bridge Road cobble work by Hambleton Council could not have been worse.

The six-week scheme was conducted in the Christmas quarter which traditionally provides good opportunities for retailers and they hoped to fully assess their activities afterwards.

They opened their shop in summer 2001 but viewed Christmas 2002 as their first fully-operational festive period. Passing traffic-based trade is vital for sales but their shop was effectively hidden during the work, they claim.

Now, as the new financial year approaches, they say accounts show takings fell £4,000 below forecast.

They are considering retrieving the losses by taking Hambleton District Council to the small claims court.

They have enlisted Stokesley solicitor Caroline Rathmell, of Thorpe Parker, to fight their case and been advised by the Federation of Small Businesses.

Miss Emmerson, 29, said: "Hambleton says the work was not on our side of the road and did not affect us. They deny the fenced-off area outside our shop was an obstruction. They say nothing can be done, if our loss was purely financial.

"It's crazy. We've said takings were affected dramatically. We're just trying to get back the money we've lost and considering the small claims court."

She accepted Hambleton Council tried to help market towns, but this work had a detrimental impact on small firms.

At the time, Steve Quartermain, the authority's head of development, said the council liased with businesses beforehand. He understood their points but said there was never a good time for such work.

Details of the claim were passed to Zurich Municipal, which said some disruption was unavoidable. It said footpaths remained open and repairs only affected the road. It regretted the loss but denied liability.

Peter Troy, of the Darlington branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, said his organisation had won other similar compensation cases.

"Quite clearly there's a demonstrable loss of trade. The local authority has a duty of care and should have done the work within the confines of people's businesses. We hope to come to an amicable settlement but will take court action, if necessary.