Miles Jermy A GREAT Yarmouth cafe owner has made a tongue in cheek response to construction work he claims is blighting the business. Kevin Eastwood created this advert to draw attention to the impact of the multi-million pound re-development at Market Gates Shopping Centre was having on custom at the Boulevard café.

Miles Jermy

A GREAT Yarmouth cafe owner has made a tongue in cheek response to construction work he claims is blighting the business.

Kevin Eastwood created this advert to draw attention to the impact of the multi-million pound re-development at Market Gates Shopping Centre was having on custom at the Boulevard café.

Diners at the café and restaurant have to look out on an unsightly collection of vehicles, machinery, skips and building materials in a bus lane, which has been closed while the £16m extension the shopping centre is built.

“The number of customers has fallen by between 30 to 50pc since the work started,” said Mr Eastwood.

“Buses are stopping elsewhere while the work is taking place, it is further for our customers to walk and people are put off coming by all the mess outside.

“I was told that work would be completed in May, but it has overrun and I have no idea when it is going to finish, the landlords have been totally uncommunicative.”

As well as the less than scenic view, customers have to put up with the noise and dirt generated from the building work carried out by contractors ISG Jackson.

Mr Eastwood's son Michael, who manages the café, believes small traders at the shopping centre have been left to bear the brunt of the development.

He said: “It is like being in the middle of a building site, there is a skip, cherry pickers and van just outside.

“It is not the greatest of settings anyway, but it's not possible to even see across the road and all the vehicles and machinery are creating a huge amount of noise.

“The prestige projects are being put first and the small businesses down here are being forgotten.

“Bills are going up, but custom is shrinking, it is disheartening coming into work every morning compared to how it used to be.”

Marie's' discount store owner Mohun Mohabeer told the Mercury he was considering moving from the premises at the bus station, because the impact the development was having.

He said: “Footfall has fallen 40 to 50pc and spending has dropped as well, now it is just casual purchases.

“It is nothing to do with the recession; this is a discount store and should be thriving in the current economic climate.

“Customers used to spend £2.50 to £2.80, now its just small purchases of 20 or 30p. There were people who used to come in every day that we don't see anymore -the only good thing is that we have not had any shoplifters either.

“This should be the busiest time of the year; we normally make lots of money on drinks and snacks from all the holidaymakers. As soon as the stock is cleared we will be looking to move out.”

Top high street names including Iceland and New Look have already opened in new extension, with department store Debenhams and Starbucks coffee shop due to arrive before Christmas.

A spokesman for Market Gates said: “Regrettably there has been some disruption caused by this work. However, we are confident that once complete, trading in the area will return to normal.

“We have worked with the Highways Authority and bus companies to ensure that bus routes were maintained during this period and we are pleased to report that works to this area are scheduled to be completed imminently.

“ISG Jackson has been faced with a significant development challenge in a highly restricted town centre site and as a result on site storage facilities have been severely restricted.

“Materials being stored in the development area are necessary for daily work, but are kept to a minimum as we have a strong desire to maintain the bus routes to ensure ease of access for customers and, where possible, work has been conducted out of hours.”