Frustrations boiled over for angry business owners who expressed their dismay after being told that parts of the Ramsgate revitalisation project will have to be redone.
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The six-week delay is on top of the extra nine months the project has already gone over deadline.
The $7 million project was announced in January last year and includes new vehicle and pedestrian access, new lighting and street furniture.
Contractor Ichor Constructions started work in March 2016 with the project due to be completed by December.
The works have already claimed one victim with a hairdresser in Ramsgate Plaza closing.
The Beauty Place is also expected to close next month when the lease runs out.
Owner Marian Fabri said she was sad to go but had no other choice.
‘’My business couldn’t sustain it which is why we’re leaving,’’ she said.
‘’Back then I had three girls on everyday and now I’m on alone. We might have two appointments a day now.
‘’A small business like mine just can’t survive. The parking is terrible and I had fencing right up against my shop for six months.
‘’We were fighting a losing battle, once people left they never came back.’’
It’s a sad end for the business who won the beauty category in the 2016 St George Local Business Awards.
The Centre Pharmacy owner Sylvia Guirguis said her initial reaction was disbelief when they heard their headaches weren’t over.
They received a letter from Ichor Constructions that said rectification works would begin on Monday and last around six weeks.
‘’I just thought ‘are you kidding me’,’’ she said.
‘’We’re only now starting to recover and then you come back again.
‘’Business plummeted when the work started and people are only coming back now. It’s still not at the same spot as where we were when it started.’’
She said they were told construction workers would take up two parking spots outside the store at their busiest time of the year.
A Bayside Council spokeswoman said the rectification were for stormwater pits that needed to be partially reconstructed to comply with relevant standards.
That means that the visible ‘lid’ to each kerb inlet pit needed to be removed and rebuilt.
Raz Guirguis said they weren’t impressed with the new look with very few people using the new seating.
‘’The only people who used it were the skateboarders,’’ he said.
‘’You’re sitting right next to a major road, who wants to eat lunch there?’’
Bayside Council has planned a month of events in October to entice people back to the area.
That includes a synthetic ice rink, petting zoo, mini putt putt, live music and face painting.
Mr Guirguis has dismissed the plans.
‘’I really don’t think a sausage sizzle and face painting are going to bring customers back,’’ he said.
The events will coincide with the rectification works however a council spokeswoman said it wouldn’t impact on the celebrations.
She said any details on penalties to Ichor Constructions because of the delays were commercial in confidence.
