Have ruined my summer

A reality TV star is seeking compensation for lost trade due to “nightmare” gas works outside his business.

Felipe Alviar-Baquero, who owns Tiny Town soft play area on the Sheldon Way trading estate in Larkfield, says he has seen a drop in customers due to the disruption which has closed part of New Hythe Lane.

Gas company SGN is investing £520,000 in replacing old mains and services in the area as part of a six-week long project. This works started on July 24 and have been timed to coincide with the school holidays.

But Mr Alviar-Baquero, a contestant on BBC’s The Apprentice in 2014, says it is one of his business’s busiest periods. “We have had employees that can’t get through, a party for 25 kids where only eight turned up and others saying it has taken up to 40 minutes to get in. People have just gone elsewhere,” he said.

“We were never consulted on the closure, and while there are signs saying other specific businesses are still open, there is nothing saying we are.

“When it comes to claiming for compensation, the document is so long and requires so much evi- dence it will take a week to complete. The whole thing has been a nightmare.”

Meanwhile, there have been numerous complaints from neighbours over traffic chaos, the use of narrow Bell Lane as a rat run and the failure to open up Bellingham Way as a diversion.

Waseem Hanif, spokesman for SGN, said: “We always try to reduce inconvenience as much as possible. However, this is an essential project which will ensure a safe and reliable gas supply for Larkfield for years to come.

“We have a compensation scheme for businesses which suffer a genuine loss of trade because of our works.”