By Dave Lord

AN EXASPERATED Perth shop owner claims his profits have been badly hit after the pavement directly in front of his premises was dug up—and then left untouched for days.

Barry Moreland of Robertson shoe repairs and key cutters of South Street was disgusted when workers downed tools at the end of last week, just four days after starting work to replace a gas main.

They have not returned to the site since, leaving Mr Moreland seething.

“I am losing money on a daily basis and it is incredibly frustrating as no work is actually being carried out,” he told The Courier.

“The workers turned up almost two weeks ago and dug up the road.

“They also put up a massive fence right in front of the shop and narrowed the walkway.

“I was told the work would only take one week to complete but, after being at the site for four days, they have never returned.

“My business is really suffering —I have the receipts to prove it— but it seems I just have to put up with it for goodness knows how long.”

Mr Moreland has been unable to put out his advertising sandwich board, leading him to miss out on many potential customers.

“The fencing acts almost like a screen in front of my shop and it is having a really detrimental effect,” he continued.

“I would not mind so much if I had been kept informed of what was happening but to be told the disruption would only last one week and then not see any significant work happening for nearly two is very annoying.

“A similar thing happened here a couple of years ago—on that occasion there were delays to drainage works being carried out by the council—and it is frustrating to say the least.”

When contacted by The Courier a spokeswoman for Scotland Gas Networks explained that a dispute with a major telecommunications firm was responsible for the delays.

“We are investing around £25,000 in a project to replace old gas mains at the site,” she said.

“We were only planning to spend one week at the site but when we opened the ground up we found a telecommunications company had put a duct on top of our gas main.

“They were notified of the problem and said they would come and sort it out but failed to do so,” the spokeswoman continued.

“We are now planning to do the work ourselves and the surface will be reinstated as soon as possible.”