Trams work: I'm sick of it . . We'll have to move out

As Princes Street prepares for seven months of upheaval to make way for the coming of the trams, JOANNA VALLELY visits an eerily quiet Leith Walk to find out how traders, shoppers and residents are coping. The roadworks started there last summer and are now driving many to distraction.

THERE'S a gloomy atmosphere in the ironmonger's where Alistair Walker and his wife Jennifer have been selling tools and cutting keys for half a lifetime.

It's lunchtime, but instead of bustling with customers, the shop halfway up the Walk is dead and its owners are sitting having a cuppa.

"I've been here 32 years and this has put me out of business," says Alistair, glancing towards the pavement outside, where a metal cage surrounds a large pile of fresh earth.

"People say we are an institution here. I'm sick of all this. I enjoy my work but we'll have to move out in July."

Alistair says trade is down 40 per cent since tram work started directly outside in January. He blames it mainly on the lack of parking spaces.

"As soon as they plug up the streets people start staying away," he says.

As Alistair chats, Jennifer breaks the news to one customer that they'll not be there much longer. "That's a sin," booms the man, shaking his head in sympathy.

The Walkers' experience has been one of the worst among the Walk's mainly independent traders, but their tales of woe are familiar ones up and down the street.

There is a strangely muted feeling on the street in the middle of the day. The heavy traffic you expect to find here has dwindled to more of a steady trickle, both in terms of cars and pedestrians.

Traders say shoppers are staying away in their droves. There is a small sign at the top of the Walk saying shops are still open for business, but no-one seems to be paying much attention.

Gordon Burgess, who owns the Bed Shop, a family enterprise with five employees, says the last two weeks have been the worst of his 26 years in business.

"You only have to look outside," he says, pointing to the empty pavement. "People can't get to us because there's very limited parking.

"There seems to be a severe lack of supervision in the whole project. We were told originally they would do 200 metres at a time and then move on, but that hasn't happened.

"The problem is that we don't have a Harvey Nicks or a big player they wouldn't want to upset. That's why we are setting up a traders' association."

As we leave, John Garner, who suffers from ME, hobbles across the road, leaning on his walking stick, frantic to draw our attention. He's helping out at Royal Artizana, a furniture shop only open a few months.

"It's been a living hell," he says emphatically. "We are losing £1500-£3000 a week. We've been given compensation money but we are going down fast.

"A few days ago they cut through an electrical cable and we were without electricity for four hours. And we had a steel bridge for over a week just to get into the shop. I think trams will be fantastic but first it will be two more years of this and I don't think we'll get through it."

Further up the Walk, rather than dust, it is anxiety that hangs in the air.

There is no jovial crowd sitting outside Vittoria's restaurant, sipping coffees and beers, chatting.

Owner Albert Crolla sighs at the empty terrace outside. "It's a disaster. Yesterday was our worst day ever. There's no passing trade. Usually in spring time we are busy and people are having a beer outside. In a week I'm losing £8000-£10,000."

Greengrocer Tattie Shaw's boss James Welby feels his Elm Row business has yet to see the worst.

"We've had a 20 per cent drop in customers since November. The passing trade of people who used to jump off the buses is gone. It's not like the rest of Leith Walk where they've had the barriers two feet from the door but I'm worried for the future.

"Currently I'm bringing the fruit here at 6.30am just to get a space to unload. If the barrier is a few feet from my main selling space in the window for the soft fruit I'll have to bring it all in because of the muck and dust."

The average loss per business since work for the trams started has been £26,333, according to a survey by the Federation of Small Businesses. Chairman of the FSB Edinburgh branch, Graham Russell, says: "There is clear evidence of extreme hardship."

And traders are not the only ones suffering. Film producer Clare Kerr, 40, is worried about the cracks in the top-floor flat she shares with her partner Adrian Mead, which she blames on the works.

"They'd dug a very deep hole outside the building for a BT chamber. It extended to the foundations of our house and since then we have had cracking."

Showing us into her living room, she points to a long crack down the wall. "It wasn't there when we went to bed and in the morning it had just opened up."

The couple are also worried at reports they've heard that tram cables could be attached to their building, which they fear could cause vibrations and further structural problems. "The main thing is the worry," adds Clare.

They leave their car in Smith's Place about 50 yards away. "Before you could stop in the bay outside and park overnight. Now it's almost impossible to park."

When shopper Sam Hardie, who lives just off Leith Walk on Dickson Street, is asked if the tram works affect her, her immediate response is: "Can I swear?"

The 57-year-old learning assistant, who doesn't drive, says the general upheaval upsets her, as does never knowing where the bus stop will be relocated.

"If I want to go to a shop on the other side of Leith Walk it's like negotiating a war zone," she moans.

However, Lochend web designer Andy Massey, 35, who is walking home along Leith Walk, feels the disruption will be worth it in the long run.

"The pavements are annoying but I think it's a temporary inconvenience. I've been in Bremen where there are trams and it's a lot cleaner."

Trams firm TIE says it has gone out of its way to make the whole process as painless as possible. It has worked with the city council and Chamber of Commerce to draw up a compensation package for affected businesses.

TIE staff have been based in the area specifically to help traders and residents with any issues and some businesses affected have received a rates rebate and qualified for compensation of up to £4000.

TIE executive chairman Willie Gallagher has repeatedly spelled out the company's determination to work with businesses and residents affected.

"The objectives of TIE and its partners have been clear from the outset – to assist as many businesses as possible," he says.

Back at Alistair Walker's ironmongers, the proprietor lets out a hollow laugh at the idea his compensation could have helped him stay open.

"We got £4000 from TIE, but that went in one hand and out the other, and we got £200 off our rates bill of £4800.

"We would like to have carried on, but as I can't afford to retire I'll just have to get a job elsewhere. You might see me in B&Q."

WEST ENDERS FEEL THE PINCH
BUSINESSES on Shandwick Place say they are struggling to cope with losses of up to 60 per cent as a result of the street's closure for major tram roadworks.

Footfall has fallen 20 per cent since the busy route was closed to all traffic as part of ongoing utility diversion works on March 1.

Brian Roberts, owner of hairdressers Headline, said: "Apart from the workmen, I can count the number of people on Shandwick Place on the fingers of one hand."

Earlier this month city leaders insisted the message that Edinburgh is open for business was getting across, and said the "dip" in Shandwick Place trade could be partially explained by the removal of bus services.

Figures for Shandwick Place show it was attracting an average of 86,000 in February. However, by the first week of March, when tram works started, the weekly footfall was 79,058 and dropped to 62,844 by the end of the month.