Popular Indian restaurant suffers ‘75% drop’ in business since Beverley…

A popular Indian restaurant in Hull is pleading for more help after revealing business is down 75 per cent since the start of nearby building works which are set to go on longer than planned. Major regeneration works to the previously dangerous and unstable Brunswick Arcade, in Beverley Road, have been ongoing since October 2021. Demolition work was completed spring last year and the reconstruction work was due to be completed during the winter. But Hull City Council confirmed there was been a delay due to work ceasing for a period last year to avoid major congestion when utility companies want to dig up the road further up. Now, the council have admitted there will be a further delay and the work will not be completed until the summer. Read more:Further misery for motorists as Beverley Road works in Hull delayed yet again Businesses along that section of Beverley Road have had to put up with cones, fences and building work on their doorsteps which has deterred customers and they say it has all but destroyed passing trade. Perhaps the hardest hit business is Raj Pavilion, which has been a staple on the stretch for a number of years. But the owners now fear how much longer they can keep going with the building works having been in place for more than 18 months already. Owner Kamran Hussain said: “Our customer numbers are going down every day. I would say our business is down 75 per cent since all this started. It has all completely died. “We are relying on word-of-mouth recommendations where people specifically come to us. We get almost no walk-in customers anymore. Many people are not even sure we are open any more. “We get people coming in from out of town who have heard of us but we are not getting many local people these days. They are put off by all the cones and having to take a five-minute detour to get to us. If we lose summer business as well then I think we are really going to struggle.” Mr Hussain now feels the council will have to offer some help to ensure the businesses affected can survive. “The council has never offered any kind of compensation but we may need to ask how they can help as we can’t go into the summer like this,” he said. “It has been nearly two years and we have struggled to survive. “I feel the council should be looking after us now. All the businesses along here have been badly affected. It is time we received some help.” Work is now not expected to be completed until the summer (Image: Richard Addison) But Hull City Council says it has already done a lot to help businesses, including the Raj Pavilion. A spokesman said: “As part of the Beverley Road Townscape Scheme, of which Brunswick Arcade is a part of, Hull City Council erected a large number of signs
SEE FULL ARTICLE