A Dundee pet food shop will close its doors in the new year after its owners claimed major roadworks had made it impossible to continue.
Susan Butchart, who runs The Dog Food Shop in Dock Street with husband Ian, said customers had been driven away by disruption caused by the £1 billion waterfront redevelopment.
Susan said: ”The takings have just gone down and down. It’s getting to the stage where we just ask ourselves, what we are going to do? Today, there was a point where we only had one customer in two hours, which isn’t normal.
”We have informed our landlord that we are going to cease trading at the end of February.
”It was a family business for 79 years and then we bought it five years ago. We were hoping to keep it in our family for many years. It’s very disappointing. We have just started to tell our customers and they are not happy.”
The shop is the only retail unit on the section of Dock Street currently closed to traffic in order to allow an 18-month programme of gas mains replacement work to take place.
Derek Dolan, a director at the nearby Tasting Rooms, said he was saddened to hear of his neighbour’s impending closure.
He said: ”It’s a pity. Nobody can get into their shop at all, it’s a quagmire and I think that’s what’s killed it off. I can see they have been struggling.”
A Dundee City Council spokesman said: ”The city council continues to talk to the Dog Food Shop and large signs have been put in place to advise that access for customers is maintained.
”We have also been trying to assist the shop to see if any suitable alternative premises could be identified. Access to this section of Dock Street is being maintained at all times while work is carried out in stages.”