Businesses want Square deal

Business owners on The Square in Palmerston North are losing patience with an upgrade project outside their doors as they battle the twin perils of less foot traffic and the lockdown loss of custom.

Construction to beautify the stretch of The Square between Church and Main streets began in January, but was halted when lockdown level four began.

The makeover is part of the $26.6 million Streets for People project, which will upgrade central city streets to make it easier for pedestrians to move around, with the loss of 205 car parks.

James Te’s The Sushi Shop trades from a site now hidden by barriers and he said it had been like operating in level three since the beginning of the year.

The footpath was open, but most people chose to walk through The Square rather than take the walkway between the construction site and Te’s shop, he said.

Te doesn’t plan to reopen under level three because the lack of people wouldn’t make it financially viable.

‘‘We’ve been operating at a loss since January, since day one our figures have been down.

‘‘For our shop alone, in six months, it’s a loss of 50 per cent.’’

Te took up the Government’s wage subsidy to help support his employees, but even with that buffer his business won’t be able to recover for years.

‘‘It helps with the cashflow at least to keep things running, and for staff we don’t have to make reductions because we’ve had to cut down by 30 per cent already.

‘‘Say this Covid goes away . . . we will still be dealing with the consequences of the construction.’’

Manawatu¯ Chamber of Commerce chief executive Amanda Linsley expected construction workers would have returned to the site yesterday, but they didn’t.

‘‘The council really need to look at these businesses. They were wearing it really well, but this has just pushed them over the edge.

‘‘They really need to be seeing work done there.’’

Council chief infrastructure officer Tom Williams hoped work on the site would resume within the next week, depending on discussions with contractor Higgins.

‘‘We’re also working with Higgins and the businesses to see if we can change the order of construction to get the footpath work done while many of the shops remain closed ...

‘‘We hope the news that construction can resume will bring some comfort to the retailers in this area.’’

A few shops down from The Sushi Shop at Bruce Watt Photography, owner David Edmonds was working on emailed orders from customers.

Customers could not wander in, but his doors had reopened for pick-up orders during level three.

It had been difficult to cope with the dent the construction had put in his business, but he was fortunate in some ways.

‘‘I’m a bit more niche market and more of a destination,’’ Edmonds said, ‘‘but it hasn’t been easy for anyone down here, especially with the double whammy of Covid-19 and the construction.

‘‘It definitely helps to be able to get that wage [subsidy] too.’’