Despite being reopened, businesses on Prescott Street have been forced to shut today, including one bakery, which says the problems only add to the struggle at this time of year.
Oliver Leader De Saxe reports.
Oliver Leader De Saxe reports.
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NewsTranscript
00:00It's something no small business wants to wake up to.
00:14Only for it to become much more devastating.
00:23According to South East Water, it was a bath like that one that just passed that made the
00:28leak much worse than it started out as, and that has left much of that side of Preston
00:35Street without running water, forcing small independent businesses like Oscars Bakery
00:42to close and impacting their bottom line in the lead up to Christmas.
00:47You just have to laugh, otherwise you cry, is really it.
00:51We lost a whole day's trade, so you know, out of the five days we're open, that's one
00:55day less.
00:56So yeah, just watched our customers come to the door, look at the sign and walk off.
01:02No fresh bread and no hot coffee means Stephanie's Bakery may have taken up to a 20% hit on this
01:11week's earnings.
01:13But it's not the only business impacted.
01:16Up the road, the usual lunchtime bustle at the Limes was nowhere to be seen, with the
01:23pub also being left without water.
01:27One of the guys running the job from Southern Water has kept us informed, so he came into
01:32the pub to tell me it was unlikely to be open before midday, probably mid-afternoon.
01:38So I took the decision to not open for legal reasons with no water supply for toilets and
01:44for hygiene.
01:45I'll lose trade, so it's as simple as that.
01:48I had 15 booked in for lunch, which I've had to cancel, so it's not great, but these things
01:54happen.
01:55South East Water have apologised to both customers and businesses along Preston Road, stating
02:02that a technician was sent out to make the area safe before the rest of the repair team
02:09arrived.
02:10Those repairs have now been completed, but it won't bring back the trade lost for businesses
02:16forced to shut up shop for the day.
02:19Oliver Leader, The Sacks, for KMTV in Favisham.