Customers are said to be avoiding Perth’s pavement cafes due to “noisy and dusty” works at City Hall.
The renovation of the building was due to start in 2019 but was put back a year, and then delayed again due to the pandemic.
Construction finally began last year and nearby firms say they expected the work to be finished by now.
But barriers are still in place as the work continues – with business owners complaining that people are being put off despite the arrival of nicer weather, as the firms attempt to recover from Covid.
Iwona Kubasa, supervisor at Willows coffee shop, said: “People can see clear as day no one is sitting outside.
“Some customers during the nice weather not too long ago were asking if they could move inside because of the noise.
“I saw one customer with a white t-shirt on who sat down outside, and within five minutes his arms were covered. It was a sunny day so he didn’t have a jacket on.
Businesses ‘exposed’ to City Hall works
“It’s not nice to see the massive green screen but it protects us somewhat, other businesses are a lot more exposed than us.
“It’s going to look great when it is done but just inconvenient right now.”
Madison McRostie, manager at the Giddy Goose, says the work has delayed the planned opening of a beer garden.
She told The Courier: “We have had to put three picnic benches outside, something we threw together to get outdoor seating.
“We can still get people in but the loss of our beer garden is where we are really seeing the issues.
“The longer it takes us to build it, the longer it takes us to start getting revenue for that outside space.”
Vasile Tanasa, manager of Crido’s restaurant, says the fencing hides his business and has resulted in lost trade.
He said: “Last month we were expecting a big volume of customers, it’s mostly just weekends that are busy now.
“The numbers speak for themselves, we are getting less than half our usual number of customers. We can see how quiet it is.
The fences hide us quite a bit so people don’t know we are here. We are missing out on that passing trade
“People are having to walk all the way around City Hall in a massive diversion and want to avoid the work.
“The fences hide us quite a bit so people don’t know we are here. We are missing out on that passing trade.
“And it can get quite noisy with all the loud machinery.”
Perth and Kinross Council says it aims to have the work finished before the busy summer season.
A spokesperson said: “The new £26.5 million museum at Perth City Hall will bring thousands of visitors to the city from across the globe.
“It will also contribute to the creation of a cultural and creative corridor in the Tay Cities region, bringing new jobs and economic benefit to the region.
“We want to create a vibrant environment to help businesses in the city centre thrive and resurfacing and upgrading the areas around the City Hall will help achieve this.
“The programme of works in the public realm outside City Hall has been phased to minimise the impact on businesses and we have been keeping them updated on progress.
“We are working with contractors and businesses to accelerate works so they are completed before demand peaks over the summer.”
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