Glasgow shop owner fears for future as sewer works disrupt trade

Louise Lawn, who owns fashion boutique Frida and Coco on High Street, says her business has been affected by the road’s closure to allow essential repairs to be carried out by Scottish Water.

The road was initially expected to be closed for around six weeks, with work beginning on Monday, January 9, after a survey identified a collapse in the sewer wall before it was extended until Friday, March 24.

Louise Lawn (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

However, the closure has now been extended until Friday, June 30, due to "unforeseen issues", with Louise saying she "couldn't breathe" when she read a letter confirming the new end date. 

She said: "I’ll be lucky to make it.

"I don’t see me being able to stay open until June.

"The eight weeks were going to be tricky as it was, especially with so many more zero days than I’ve ever seen before.

"I feel it’s the final straw for me."

A letter informing Louise of the closure was dated January 7, 2023, leading her to believe Scottish Water knew from the start the closure would last until June and "lied" about the work lasting six weeks. 

However, a spokesperson for Scottish Water confirmed the date was an "error" and should have been dated February 7. 

As a result of the project, Louise says she has lost the majority of passing trade to her shop, which sells vintage, pre-loved and designer clothing, and has provided clothing to TV and film costume departments.

The 47-year-old said: "How I get my customers through the door, is really just two revenues.

"Either the customer comes into the shop by foot, you might get someone specifically wanting to come into the shop for something, but for the other half what I rely on heavily is people going past in their car and seeing my window display.

"Before the work started, I had a lady who saw my window display, pulled over and spent hundreds of pounds in a matter of minutes."

However, Louise says her revenue has been more than halved since the work started and there have been several days where she has had no takings.

She believes she will lose upwards of £10,000 in revenue by June.

She said: "I’ve lost thousands, definitely thousands.

"I would get the odd zero-day but peppered in between days where people would come in and spend more, but I’m not having that now."

Louise, who lives in Tradeston, says she contacted Scottish Water asking for compensation due to the loss of business but was told "there’s no money set aside to pay for any of the inconvenience".

She says the lack of compensation makes her feel "hopeless".

She said: "I don’t know how much Scottish Water is worth, but I just feel that they don’t care.

"Scottish Water could cost me my whole investment, every penny of that."

Louise has also raised concerns after residents’ wheelie bins were moved in front of her shop while the work takes place, and large tanks were placed in front, blocking out sunlight and leaving her feeling "imprisoned".  

She says people are now using the area like a "skip" and items, such as a stained mattress, have been dumped outside the store.

Mattress outside Frida & Coco (Image: Louise Lawn)

Louise opened Frida and Coco in June 2019 after leaving her 12-year career as an art teacher as she found it had become "stressful".

However, since she opened the shop, Louise has already had to get the business through the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

She said: "I feel really bleak.

"I’m quite a cheerful, optimistic person, I have this feeling I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing, it’s a childhood dream to be involved in fashion,

"I’ve intended to invest in this for the rest of my life, it’s not a short-term thing but it’s hard to be cheerful and hopeful when you’re sitting and adding up your sales and you’re not making any sales."

She added: "I pray a miracle happens and I’m still there in the summer because there’s nothing else I can really do."

A spokesperson for Scottish Water said: "We have previously met with and continue to engage with business owners in High Street, Glasgow to understand the concerns they have with the essential works we are carrying out.

"The works need to be completed as there is a serious risk of major sewer collapse and we cannot re-open the road safely until essential repairs are successfully carried out. 

"We have implemented several mitigation measures to help support the businesses in the area, including the provision of alternative parking where access to their private parking has been suspended, help with facilitating deliveries and paid-for advertising on social media to ensure the public are fully aware that businesses in the area are open as usual.

"We will continue to work with businesses and do what we can to assist.

"We are working in very tight conditions in High Street.

"The site set-up has been dictated by the project needs, as well as existing infrastructure and excavation points.

"This will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and, where possible, the site set-up will be changed.

"We will engage with local residents and businesses ahead of any amendments.

"George Leslie, our main contractor delivering the project, has had regular meetings with Glasgow City Council regarding refuse collections and we are working together to address any issues.

"The council has also carried out checks and confirmed that noise levels are compliant with environmental health regulations.

"Scottish Water is publicly owned and we must ensure that money raised from customer charges is invested in improving water and sewerage services for customers.

"We fully appreciate that there is inconvenience caused by these essential works to repair the sewer and, unfortunately, we have encountered several issues on High Street since the works began.

"These issues are completely unforeseen and could not have been ascertained until we began digging.

"Uncharted services, remnants of old worksites that predate modern records and tricky ground conditions are adding to complications.

"We are currently reviewing our work programme and we now anticipate that the road closure will remain in place until around Friday, June 30, 2023.

"We will work to expedite the delivery of this project where possible with the aim of re-opening the road sooner if we can.

"We will continue to work with local residents and business owners to help minimise any disruption for the duration of this major investment project.

"We thank everyone for their patience and understanding throughout.

"The error with the date in the letter was a genuine mistake with those which were hand-delivered.

"Letters which have been posted to customers have the correct date of February 7.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Frida and Coco is located at 262 High Street.

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