Closed
Business Suffering Due to Extreme Disruption and Invasiveness of Works
Reported in the Street works and obstructions category anonymously at 17:11, Mon 10 August 2020
Sent to Westminster City Council less than a minute later. FixMyStreet ref: 2239086.
To whom this may concern, My name is Mohamed Bakkali and I am the business owner of 2amici at 48a Rochester Row (SW1P 1JU). I am regrettably writing to Westminster City Council to inform them of the severe loss of business they have caused me since allowing road works to start outside my business on the 20th July 2020. I would appreciate Westminster City Council taking the time to hear what I would like to say, and consider how they can make amends. I am not aware of which corporation is doing the road works, but it is of interest to me who from Westminster City Council authorised these works, and how they imagined this would not impact my business as clearly no measures were put in place to protect 2amici during this time. As the council that is supposed to protect businesses in the Westminster area, and as the council who we pay our rates to for the services they provide, we find that this is an unacceptable oversight as it has proven extremely dangerous to our business. I am writing first as a courtesy in the hopes an agreement can be made between Westminster City Council and I, however if this is not the case, I will be looking to take further action. I will also enclose evidence of the disruption these roadworks have caused my business in order to support my points. As you are aware, all businesses had to close through the lockdown period and were allowed to reopen on the 4th of July by the government. As much of the public were still hesitant to go out and eat in public places, myself, and other businesses in the area alike, struggled initially to encourage customers to venture out. It seems that as soon as we managed to build trust with the customers in the area again, these roadworks started and have since put customers off from coming in. I was patient to begin with, assuming that the roadworks wouldn’t last longer than five days or so (as other roadworks on Rochester Row earlier in the year only lasted a few days) and I trusted that the customers local to the area would be patient and return once the roadworks ended. The roadworks are not only still going over a week later, but are becoming more invasive to our business space. The latest development as of today (10/08/20) is that the entrance to my business has been almost completely cut off and the barriers used for the roadworks mean I cannot put tables outside- which I do not need to emphasise the necessity of following a global pandemic. Prior to this, other disruptions included a temporary traffic light being placed right outside, causing traffic such as motorbikes and rubbish vans to be stopped at the light, revving their engines and putting off passing customers. The noise pollution and gas pollution created a terrible atmosphere and caused discomfort for already seated customers who were trying to enjoy their evening. This resulted in them requesting the bill and leaving early. Another major disruption was when a large digger was parking directly outside our business during our working hours, both blocking us from the street and blocking our windows from seeing anything outside. As a result of these nuisances, we have had days on days where we have had no customers, which will force us into closure. I feel frustrated that after such a long period of being closed down (5 months), I still have obstacles to get my business up and running again. What Westminster City Council have allowed to happen to our business is completely detrimental to our survival. The situation is made even more upsetting when compared to the large extra spaces provided to businesses on Warwick Way, Denbigh Street and Wilton Road. Here, Westminster City Council have gone out of their way to section off parts of the already narrow roads, in some cases even redirecting traffic, in order to allow businesses to safely put tables outside without taking up pavement space or endangering customers. As a result of this, these businesses are trading very successfully, which is evident by their constantly packed outdoor tables. This makes me wonder what the difference is between my business and their businesses, and why they get an extra helping hand while my business is seemingly forgotten and continues to suffer more. This should never have happened as it is the job of Westminster City Council to advocate the rights of all of the businesses under their care, and to ensure any mandatory works do not cause such severe loss of business. A suggestion I would’ve made in place of Westminster City Council would be to request the works be done outside of business hours where possible, or, at the very least, a letter to be sent to our business in advance alerting us of the works that were scheduled to take place to allow us to prepare for this difficult time. The fact not a single effort or thought was made to assist us suggests that we are truly disregarded by Westminster City Council, and as mentioned above, I would like to know the reasoning behind this oversight when other businesses are so well looked out for. I would expect an explanation for this in your response; otherwise I will be pushed to make my own assumptions as to why we have been discriminated against if I need to take further action. I hope that Westminster City Council understand my upset and frustration, and not only receive this information but become proactive in investigating it and taking swift steps to make amends. I understand that perhaps the roadworks could not have taken place during the period 2amici was closed due to lockdown rules, and I understand works in the area have to be done, but I find that the level of invasiveness and disruption caused by these roadworks is too high to go unreported and undisputed. Thank you for taking the time to read through my letter, and I would like for the photos and videos to be reviewed also to show that I am not being unreasonable in my complaints. I hope to hear from you soon, Mr Mohammed Bakkali
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