Road works on a street in Petone, Lower Hutt, cut 65 percent of a businessman's profits over three weeks making it hard for him to feed his family, he says.
The Chocolate Story's director Brett Nicholls is asking the Hutt City Council for compensation. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
The Chocolate Story's director Brett Nicholls is asking the Hutt City Council for compensation. Other shops around the same stretch of Jackson Street said also they lost thousands of dollars.
Contractors told businesses the road works would take five days, but instead they took three weeks, he said.
Since the roadworks had ceased, Mr Nicholl's customers had come back - and explained why they didn't come in during the works.
"They just could not get to me," he said. "The traffic was backed up all the way down to the lights, down the other end of Jackson Street. It took anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes just to get down to the street.
"Then once they got here of course it was stop-go traffic. There was no car parks, so it was just impossible for customers to get to this shop."
The drop in business meant almost all of his cash reserves were gone heading into winter, usually a quiet time for the tiny chocolate shop.
Mr Nicholls said he was left speechless by the Hutt City Council's response, or lack thereof, after the road works caused him to lose so much money.
He wrote the council a letter this week, asking it to think about compensating him. The council replied saying it would respond in due course.
"I don't think they really understand the impact. I couldn't take a salary so I find it hard to feed my own family, I find it hard to pay the mortgage, it really impacts us. We can't hire any staff at the moment, it's just me in the shop, trying to make up the losses."
Across the road at Build a Birthday - a shop full of supplies for birthday parties - owner Fay Drysdale said it was hard to know how much she had lost over the three weeks.
Build a Birthday owner Fay Drysdale said it was hard to know how much she had lost over the three weeks. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
She had done a rough tally over three days and said it worked out to about $1800 losses.
"We had a huge downturn in numbers of customers coming through the door," she said.
"So it really just had quite a financial impact on us and it's not just about the fact the customers didn't come in - where did they go? Did they go online, did they go to another store, and will they come back?"
The council could have communicated much better with retailers, she said.
"I think the council should've sat down and met with the business owners, they should've realised that there would've been a financial impact to us."
The council could have organised for the road works to be done after opening hours, Ms Drysdale said.
She would not push for compensation because the process could be too hard, and take too long, she said.
Shops in Petone. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Hutt City Council was asked what, if anything, it could do to support businesses, whether the council or the mayor had been in touch with shop owners, and whether it would make an effort to do things differently last time.
Divisional manager of transport John Gloag said: "We understand the contractor kept affected businesses fully informed throughout the works which were extended by wet weather."
