United Utilities has responded to concerns raised by business owners about a water leak on Finkle Street last Thursday (July 31) which closed and impacted businesses down New Shambles Lane until Wednesday (August 6).
Bobbie Fisher, of the impacted About Time Espresso Bar, expressed frustrations with the situation by saying: “There was lots of confusion regarding what jobs were getting done.
“I was told it would be fixed on the Thursday evening (July 31) but then I came to work on the Friday morning to still have an issue with the water leak.”
The business owner said crews had to come out to repair the leak three times over the course of the six days of disruption.
The second repair job on Tuesday night even caused the power in the Espresso bar to cut out completely due to water disturbing the shop’s electrics.
On Wednesday (August 6), however, the issue was finally resolved, but the damage to the business had already been done, says Bobbie.
About Time Espresso Bar said they estimated losses in the region of £3,000 across the entire six days they were closed because of the leak and the subsequent works.
This publication was also told that other businesses such as Lovehairkendal were impacted by the leak, with potential loss in clients, and the toilet facilities, which are shared by all of the businesses down the Lane, were also out of order during the period.
On the leak and the impact on businesses in the area, a United Utilities spokesperson said: “Our teams attended to repair a small leak on Finkle Street.
“When a second leak happened, investigations showed that this was located on an aged and decaying private pipework within commercial premises.
“Although pipes within properties are not part of the United Utilities network, as a goodwill gesture, we repaired this leak and renewed the stop tap where it connects into the wider water network.
“Unfortunately, this did leave the premises without water overnight until the service could be restored the following morning. We apologise for any inconvenience this caused.”