East Belfast business forced to close after pipe burst in ‘unnotified’ construction work
An East Belfast delicatessen owner said he lost thousands to a burst pipe during “unannounced” construction.
The Two Sisters deli on Ardenlee Avenue was forced to close its doors on Friday morning, August 13, after a main pipeline burst during the Infrastructure Department’s work to install water pipes in a new block of flats.
Victoria Nicol, owner of the award-winning company, said she was shocked to arrive at the deli on Friday morning to see delivery trucks and an excavator parked on the front door and road access from Cregagh Road blocked.
She said, “Nobody had received any prior notice that this work was going to take place today. Amount of work that would have allowed me to plan ahead.
“I couldn’t bring supplies in while the work was going on, and when the pipe broke I had to shut it down completely because there was no water to make coffee, wash dishes, and keep the place clean.
Continue reading
Related articles
Continue reading
Related articles
“I’m going to be absent by the thousands because of it, and much of it could have been avoided if someone had the courtesy to let me know about the work in advance.
“I still don’t know if I’ll act tomorrow as I’ve been told it could take more than 12 hours to fix the damaged pipe.
The Two Sister Café in East Belfast had to close after construction workers burst a pipe during “unsolicited” work
“I had to close my business through no fault of my own and was told that no help was available.
Lisnasharragh DUP Councilor David Brooks said he was very disappointed to see what happened to Cafe Two Sisters and that all that was required was “common sense and courtesy” to lessen the impact on it.
He said, “I spent part of this morning looking into this disruption that was inflicted on an award-winning small business, Two Sisters, this morning on Ardenlee Avenue.
“This work was done on one of the busiest trading days without consulting the Northern Irish Ministry of Water or Infrastructure. The DfI has been using Covid as a convenient excuse to skip advising on many topics, and while the legal responsibility rests with them. ”NI Water and its contractors could have acted with some common sense and courtesy.
“I have expressed my own dissatisfaction with NI Water and will be contacting DfI now. It has been completely grim and will lose a significant amount of revenue for a small independent company on one of its busiest days, all without warning.” to the owner. As if the pandemic wasn’t challenging enough for local businesses. “
A spokesperson for NI Water said, “NI Water has known that an existing utility was accidentally damaged in the course of plans to install a number of critical new water connections. The refurbishment work was carried out immediately and supplies to the customer were restored today – Friday at 11:45 a.m. August 13th.
“NI Water understands the excavation work is disruptive and apologizes for any inconvenience local businesses may cause during these busy times. We would like to thank the public and businesses in the region for their patience and cooperation while carrying out this important work. “
Sign up for our newsletter here to receive the latest breaking news straight to your inbox.
Comments are closed.