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'Roadworks have left no money in the till'

Amber Macey
BBC News
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Jayne Armitage runs Tilly's Boutique and said the lack of footfall from customers meant there was "no money in the tills"

Business owners on a busy road in Hull have said they are suffering a drop in customers because of severe disruption caused by lengthy gas and roadworks.

The repairs on Chanterlands Avenue began on 29 January and are set to finish on 21 February.

Jayne Armitage, who runs Tilly's Boutique, described the work as "horrendous" and said the lack of footfall from customers meant there was "no money in the tills".

Northern Gas Networks has apologised for the inconvenience and said its team was "working hard to complete these repairs and reopen the roads as soon as possible".

The work started after a car crash damaged a gas pipe, with engineers making an initial repair to reopen the road.

However, Northern Gas Networks has said it is "more complex than we first anticipated".

Ms Armitage said: "There's just nobody coming down the avenue because everybody is stuck in traffic and wants to get home.

"I've got to pay the bills and this situation is not putting any money in the tills."

A close up shot of a woman looking directly at the camera. She has short wavy purple hair, just past her shoulders, and has makeup on her face. She is wearing a black and white patterned blouse. Behind her are four rows of bras lined up on a rail.
Katherine Alexander runs an appointment-only lingerie store and said the ongoing works had forced customers to cancel bookings

Wendy Normington, who runs Chants Cafe Bar 45, said her business had been open for only four months and the ongoing work had caused extra pressure.

"We need all the customers we can get," Ms Normington said.

"It's been intrusive, the traffic has been bad, it's hard to cross the road and we have seen a fall in customers."

Katherine Alexander, the manager of Sophistikate Lingerie Boutique, told the BBC: "I'm an appointment only shop and it's caused a lot of my customers to be late or cancel. It's causing a lot of stress and anxiety."

"I'm massively concerned about the impact on sales," she said.

"The work needs doing but the whole situation is causing a lot of stress."

Image of roadworks. A large white lorry is parked on the left surrounded by yellow temporary barriers. Behind the lorry is a large hole in the ground, which is being dug. There are two orange cones in front of the yellow barriers and red signs reading: 'footpath closed'.
Northern Gas Networks has said the supply to homes and businesses in the area will not be affected

Chris Keith, operations manager at Northern Gas Networks, said: "Our teams are working extremely hard, including during weekends, to complete these repairs and reopen the roads as soon as possible.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Temporary three-way traffic lights are in operation on Chanterlands Avenue for the duration of the works.

A signed diversion is in place for motorists, and access will be maintained where possible, the company added.

Northern Gas Networks said businesses who had lost money could submit a claim for compensation via its website.

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