Launderette is left high and very dry by tram works hole

Published on Monday 8 June 2009 11:02

A HUGE hole dug for the city's tram works has been blamed for swallowing up the profits of a Leith launderette after it went out of business.

George McGill, the owner of the Leith Launderette on Leith Walk, said he had been forced to close two other launderettes in the city because of the difficulties caused to his business by the trams.

He said the hole, which prevented customers parking outside his shop, had combined with frequent and sudden losses of water and electricity to force him to close down.

Works in Leith are among the most behind schedule, with utility diversion works due to be completed last year still not finished.

Mr McGill said: "The hole has been there constantly – as soon as they fill it in, it gets dug up again.

"There's a big tram sign saying 'Taking You to the Shops in 2011', but what shops are they talking about? The place will be a ghost town by then.

"Before the tram works appeared the shop was very profitable, but now I am at the stage that I have lost everything. I'm very bitter about it."

Mr McGill was one of a number of traders who received 4,000 in compensation from tram bosses, but Leith Business Association has argued the money was not enough.

The work outside his shop has also been blamed for causing large cracks that have appeared in nearby flats.

Gordon Burgess, of the Leith Business Association, said: "There's been nothing but deep excavation work outside the launderette. The tram project can argue all it likes about the effects of the recession, but we are now getting close to the works at the Foot of the Walk being a year late. Something has got to give. The recession has hurt the launderette, but the tram project has been the death knell."

Last month figures showed that the first phase of work between Newhaven and the Foot of Leith Walk was only 39 per cent complete, but works further up the street were almost complete.

Tram bosses said all the utility diversions – the first phase of the 545 million project – would be completed by the summer.

Councillor Gordon Mackenzie, the city's transport convener, said he sympathised with shops being put out of business but said there were currently no plans to offer more compensation to businesses.

Steven Bell, Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE) project manager, said: "TIE cannot comment on individual cases, however we are sorry to hear of any business in distress during these difficult financial times.

"TIE continues to work with the Edinburgh business community, supporting it via the Open for Business campaign and mitigating the impact of the tram works where possible."