By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Village Road companies have branded the area’s ten-month long roadworks “a disaster for business” with income losses running as high as 46 percent and damaged properties urgently needing repairs.

Some 15 firms signed a December 9, 2022, letter detailing the economic impact, and their grievances, to Alfred Sears KC, minister of works and utilities, whose ministry has oversight of the road improvement project. They outlined how contractors have taken over more space on their premises than initially promised, and damages to parking lots and buildings that will have to be repaired.

Among the individual businesses testifying to their losses, The Place For Art disclosed that its earnings were down by 46 percent when compared to the same six-month pre-COVID period in 2019. “Our accountant compiled a comparison of income for the year 2019 and 2022,” the company told Mr Sears.

“Since the Village Road Improvement Project only began to impact our revenue starting June 2022, the comparison was made between June 1 to November 30, 2019, and June 1 to November 30, 2022. We were shown a spreadsheet that revealed a loss of income of 46 percent caused by the Village Road Improvement Project.”

Pointing out that the company was still trying to rebound from its three-month COVID closure in 2020, The Place For Art added: “Since the trenching began on the northern section of Village Road in June, The Place For Art saw a drastic decline in people coming to have their art, photos, diplomas and much more custom framed.

“The ever-changing roadblocks and diversions were a challenge for most people familiar with the alternate routes through Blair/Harmony Hill Road and Montagu Heights. Since our business attracts clients from all parts of New Providence, those people not familiar with this area of the island were discouraged to come to our framing boutique for custom picture framing..... The inconvenience of not being accessible has had a significant impact on our 2022 sales income.”

Similar stories were voiced by other businesses. The Four Walls Squash and Social Club revealed it has had to lay-off all event-related staff “until further notice” due to the disruption and loss of business caused by road closures, diversions and roadworks dust.

“Four Walls has seen a 30-40 percent decline in new and existing business with walk-in customers falling off completely,” the company revealed. “During the summer, the road closures and excessive dust forced us to suspend our weekend brunch, which was hosted on our outdoor patio; delay the planned roll-out of our dine-in lunch; suspend special events and promotions; and scale back our operations overall.

“We had to completely suspend all weekly outdoor events including our very successful Rhythm Village live music night on the patio, and scale back our monthly Moonlight Market backyard pop-up and shopping experience. All associated staff with these events had to be laid off until further notice.

“The premises is full of dust including the interior carpets and furniture, which will have to be washed or replaced. The external walls of the building will have to be pressure washed and repainted after the roadworks are complete. There has been significant damage to the parking lot directly adjacent to Village Road, which was used to redirect traffic around the open trenches. This area will have to be repaved and repainted.”

Tropical Nursery said contractors have taken over “almost double” the amount of space in its parking lot that was originally proposed. “Tropical Nursery has seen a decline of 35 percent in customer interaction and business since the commencement of Village Road Improvement Project,” Mr Sears was told.

“The lack of organisation and efficiency to provide flow-through traffic has severely impeded our schedule of shipments and supplies. The reconstruction of our boundary wall and gate took an entire month, leaving an opened trench in our parking lot, thus blocking the entry way which did not allow containers to be delivered. Needless to say, this has caused a great deal of frustration but, more importantly, an increase in operational expenditure.

“In the planning stages of Village Road Improvement Project, we were told that a portion of our parking lot would be needed to ensure a successful outcome of the project. To our dismay, this portion grew in size throughout the project, and at its current ‘completed’ stage is almost double the amount that was initially proposed.

“Unfortunately, we still await confirmation on fair compensation. Due to the shrinkage of our parking lot, we are not able to host the same amount of customers at our business. In addition to this, our gate was poorly reinstalled and is not working properly, adding a security threat to the ordeal.” Tropical Nursery accused contractors of using its parking lot “for the dumping of material without prior permission”, while the dust from the roadworks had impacted its greenhouses. 

Meanwhile, The Computer Store added: “The Village Road Improvement Project has been a disaster for business. There were days when the parking lot was trenched off completely and customers wishing to access the store would have to park and walk in through the dust or mud, depending on the weather.

“The fill from these trenches were placed on to the surface of our parking lot, and then when the work was finished, heavy equipment was seen in our yard scraping the ground and pushing it back into the trench. This has completely destroyed the parking lot. We would respectfully ask that the parking lot be repaved to repair the damages done to it.

“We do not own the property, but our landlord has said that due to the condition of the area the rentals are down (only two out of six units) and they are not in a financial position to repave the parking lot that has been damaged, as they are also struggling to pay the real property tax which has tripled within the last year.”

Besides having to deal with the dust, The Computer Store added: “Our phones and Internet have been disrupted on numerous occasions, sometimes for up to a week at a time. A computer business without Internet service is almost impossible. When I do get to talk to customers,their concern is often ‘How can I get to you?’ Or ‘I was told I can’t come that way’, sometimes even “I’m sorry I don’t want to take my car into that mess’.

“I have done my best to keep my staff employed through these difficult times, even where some months we aren’t even breaking even with current expenses. This has proven to be a very difficult year for us; a year when we needed growth.”

It was a similar story at The Village Deli, which said its sales have declined by 30-40 percent due to the roadworks. A small business and food truck vendor, it added: “We experienced disruptions in traffic flow, parking restrictions, noisy machinery, dirty construction zones and a change in the habits of even our most loyal customers.

“Despite our attempts to be creative and resourceful to stay profitable during the road construction project, our efforts failed forcing us to shut our food truck down for weeks before relocation.”

The 15 companies signing the letter also include Pam Burnside and Doongalik Studios Art Gallery; Graham Weatherford’s Sure Alarm; Branville McCartney’s Halsbury Chambers and fellow law firm, Providence Law; The Village Dental Centre; Village Office Suites; the Life Chiropractic Centre; and Da Craft Cottage.