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28
Aug
‘I’ve not paid myself this month’, says Harrogate shop owner hit by Tesco roadworks
An independent shop owner in Harrogate says she has been forced to forgo her salary this month due to declining footfall caused by the Tesco roadworks.
The roadworks, on the A59 Skipton Road near New Park roundabout, are expected to last for eight to 10 weeks to create an access road and roundabout for a new Tesco supermarket.
However, the work, which started last week, has blocked vehicular entry to Euclid Avenue and Electric Avenue.
The Stray Ferret visited Claire Lewis, owner of Number One Shop on Electric Avenue, this week after she got in touch to say she's had to lay off staff and had been denied compensation by highways authority North Yorkshire Council.
She said:
They’re doing Tesco, but they haven’t started any work at the top of our street yet. I’ve asked them if they’d move the barriers from outside the street, and they told me they can’t because they’re digging a hole. But it’s been a week and two days, and they haven’t started any work here yet. It’s so frustrating because they could easily put a one-way system coming into the street [from the A59].
The entrance to Electric Avenue is blocked, but roadworks have not started yet.
Ms Lewis added that 'residents only' signs have been put up at the junction between Jenny Field Drive and Stonebeck Avenue, which leads to Electric Avenue — further reducing footfall at her convenience store.
She said:
People can’t come in from one way, there are signs that say don’t come in the other way, and I’m stuck in the middle. I’ve never known it [to be] this bad. I even think when Tesco opens I’ll be busier than I am now.
The "residents only" sign placed at the top of Stonebeck Avenue.
Ms Lewis said prior to the roadworks, Number One Shop would take around £600 to £700 daily from card payments, plus an additional £300 to £400 in cash. Last Friday, which Ms Lewis said is the busiest day of the week, she took £161 on card and £80 in cash.
The prospect of 10 weeks like this is causing considerable concern. She has already had to temporarily lay off one member of staff, and is not paying herself this month either, although she still has her own bills to pay.
She said:
I’m the only one running it because I can’t pay my staff, but the only way of getting round the situation is not paying myself. I come to work every day feeling down because there’s nothing here. I’m worried about [my staff] because they’re not working and I’m working 10am-6pm unpaid every day.
'Please help'
Ms Lewis said her letters to North Yorkshire Council and Tesco asking for compensation have had no response.
We asked what she would like them to do:
Please give us some leniency and help. We’re a small business with bills to pay and we’re being severely disrupted by their work. Their work is stopping me working.
We contacted Tesco and the council for comment.
A spokesperson for Tesco said:
We apologise for the inconvenience caused by these essential works for our new Harrogate superstore. We continue to work closely with the council and the local community to minimise the impact of these works on the local road network.
We have not yet had a response from the council.
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