Cornish restaurateur claims building works could ‘kill' his business
A Cornish restaurant owner has claimed workmen that blocked the entrance to his restaurant with a fence and trucks could put him out of business.
Ciro Alvisuri, owner of The Italian restaurant on New Connexions Street in Camborne, said that the private development of a building opposite could "kill" his restaurant.
The street was closed by Cornwall Council on Monday to allow the development to go ahead safely.
"If my customers can't come for a month we can't survive," he told BBC News. "Since I opened the restaurant on 1 July, I usually have about 30 to 40 people for dinner in the evenings, but on Monday I had no-one and last night just one table for three.
"I've also lost my passing trade for morning coffees and lunches - people are cancelling because the road is closed and they can't get in.
"When I arrived on Monday I could not access my own restaurant and had to wait more than half an hour until a lorry was moved.
"This is supposed to go on until the end of September, but it could kill us - I just can't lose all customers - it would provoke the closure of my business."
Alvisuri went on to say that he had not been informed of the road closure, but the council maintained that it had been advertised on street notices and in the local paper.
In a statement a spokesman for the council described the road closure as necessary to allow scaffolding and equipment on the public highway, adding: "A member of the council's street works team will contact the contractors to discuss the access issues and advise they set out signs highlighting that local businesses on the street remain open for business."
Panicos Loizides, the London property developer that is renovating the private property, said the problem had been created by the council's insistence on closing the road.
He said: "I understand the restaurant owner's concern, but the council said there was a requirement to apply for a road closure. There should be a way to sort this out and I have spoken to my contractors asking them to keep disruption to a minimum."
