Restaurant owner says trade hit by dirt damage from pot hole

A RESTAURANT owner is forced to spend three hours cleaning the outside of his business every time it rains, because of a giant pothole.

• Abdul Jalil says buses splash muck from the pothole over his shop front

Abdul Jalil, who owns Indian Mela, on Clerk Street, said the pothole fills up with water that is then splashed across his restaurant when buses drive over it.

He said stones and grit that have gathered in the pothole are also thrown up, damaging the paintwork.

Despite complaints to the council, Mr Jalil, 50, says the problem has worsened over the past year, creating a huge dip in the road that fills up during every downpour. He said: "It is ridiculous. I complained to the council last summer, then at Christmas during the big freeze, and now again.

"Every time it rains I feel dread because the water fills up the pothole and every time a bus goes past lots of stone-filled spray goes all over my shop.

"It has so many dents and scars in it now, and I have to spend around three hours clearing up the mess every time it rains.

"It's a big problem and a lot of damage is caused, especially as we live outside a bus stop."

Mr Jalil said he was worried that his shop was starting to appear dirty and run down due to the marks on its front.

He said he had noticed a dip in trade and feared that people were being deterred from visiting his restaurant.

The businessman added: "I am going to have to pay for the painting and windows to be redone out of my own pocket. The state of the potholes around here is terrible.

"Now they're not only affecting drivers, they're affecting local businesses.

"The council did repair the hole the first time I complained about it, but they clearly didn't do a very good job."

Mr Jalil's daughter, Shamall, 20, who works in the restaurant, added: "The hole is about the size of a car tyre and it has become worse.

"Clearly it's a widespread problem around Edinburgh and I'm sure we're not the first to experience such an expensive inconvenience.

"Economic conditions are obviously not good at the moment, so we don't really have the funds to keep fixing the restaurant when the damage is completely unnecessary."

A spokeswoman for the city council said there was a priority list for potholes, where the worst are fixed straight away and less serious ones are mended as soon as is possible.

She said: "We will look into this issue".