The owner of an award-winning Bristol bakery and cafe feels his business has been ‘cut off’ by construction workers laying a new pavement outside. Eddie Perez of Pinkmans Bakery claims the work outside his shop on Park Street started without warning and the disruption has meant a substantial drop in trade.
Mr Perez says he received a letter from Bristol City Council earlier in the year to say the pavements on Park Street were being changed. But he claims there were no communications as to when the work would start outside his business or how intrusive it would be.
Construction workers have been laying new pavement along the length of Park Street in recent weeks, and he says they started working outside Pinkmans on Friday morning (August 12). The safety barriers are so close to the shop front that many customers have wrongly assumed the bakery and cafe is shut.
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Mr Perez says on Friday morning, the shop and cafe saw an immediate drop in trade, which he said was down 90 per cent compared to the previous week.
He said: “They set up directly outside the front door leaving us with no pedestrian access from the Triangle end of Park Street. It comes right up to the shop front, leaving about a 50cm edging to access the shop from down the hill.
“It is having a devastating effect on my business already. This weekend should have been busy due to the Balloon Fiesta and so many visitors to Bristol but it’s very worrying as people can’t get into the shop.”
Mr Perez says he was told the work outside his premises will continue for a week and then it will move further up the road. He said: “The workmen are lovely and they understand it’s an inconvenience for us.
"They’re just doing their job and the end result is beautiful - I guess it’s short-term pain for long-time gain but as a business that relies on footfall, it’s having a dramatic effect already but we are very much open for business!”
Bristol Live has approached Bristol City Council for comment. According to a notice on roadworks site One.Network, the council is "repaving the footway on both sides of the road from Park Row to Unity Street".
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