Repair bill forces cafe owner to sell business

A CAFE owner today told how she is being forced to sell the business she has run for more than 20 years after the council bill for fixing her building soared by more than £100,000.

• Bonita has worked at the cafe for 36 years

Bonita Russell, who owns Bonita's Cafe in Leith, said she had been left with no other option but to sell up after being hit with a statutory repair notice.

The case comes as the statutory notice system - which allows the council to carry out essential repairs to private properties and then recoup the costs from the owners - is mired in controversy.

Six council staff have been suspended as part of an investigation into 4.5 million worth of contracts, amid allegations of fraud, with the police also investigating.

Ms Russell, 51, who has worked in the Trafalgar Street eatery since she was 15, today told the Evening News she was "heartbroken" at the thought of selling the business she has owned for the past 21 years,

She is one of 18 property owners sharing a bill for 192,000 worth of roof and chimney repairs, which were originally expected to cost just 80,000.

She said: "We're a part of the local community and I know everyone that comes in.

"The place is full of character and people will miss us when we're gone. I will be devastated if we have to close, absolutely heartbroken."

Stan Eadie, a member of the local community council, said the cafe provided an important role in the area, often taking meals to the elderly or sick.

He said: "Nobody here has ever thanked the ladies that run the cafe, but they're going to be missed by everyone.

"It was a shock to hear they're packing up because there are a lot of people who have relied on them."

Earlier this week, the city council announced that Deloitte had been drafted in to carry out an independent investigation of its statutory repair notice system, which sees 3000 repair notices issued each year.

The inquiry is said to have uncovered a catalogue of fraud allegations over home repair work, with residents claiming that their costs snowballed out of control, that they were billed for work which was never done, that unnecessary work was done and that extra repairs were carried out without consultation.

In one case, 15 neighbours were told they would share a 300,000 bill for stone repairs, but three years later the work is still not finished and the bill is over 1 million and rising.

One council employee was suspended last November as part of an investigation and last month the Evening News revealed that five more staff had been put under "precautionary suspension".

Mark Turley, director of the council's services for communities department, said: "The council has already acted decisively and commissioned a full independent investigation.

"Until the outcome of this investigation is known, it would be inappropriate for us to comment on Mrs Russell's, or any other, case.

"However, we would reassure every home or business owner who has raised concerns that they will receive our full attention."