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By Evie Richardson of 

Behind a sea of road cones, diggers and traffic chaos, businesses on a busy Auckland road are crying out for help.

Shop owners in Grey Lynn say they have been struggling to stay afloat since a year-long roadwork project began on Great North Rd in January.

With access often cut off and shops hidden from view, one business is surviving off loans, while another said times are the toughest they have been in 23 years, including during Covid.

High metal fences surround the frontage of Avi’s Pies and Patisserie.

It is part of the Great North Road Improvement Projects, aimed at making the busy road more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists.

Despite the project’s end date being set for later this month, one morning this week a digger sat unmanned, the road was quiet and the work looked far from complete.

The bakery’s owner, Raj Singh, says it has been this way for months now.

Owner of Avi’s Pies and Patisserie Raj Singh says his business has been impacted so badly that he’s surviving off loans. Photo / Evie Richardson, RNZ

“The foot traffic has dropped down, people can’t see if we are open or closed because of the machines in front of our shop, barriers, everything.”

Since the roadworks appeared in front of his shop in October, he said, sales had dropped by around 40%.

Since everything is baked fresh on site, if product isn’t sold it can’t be kept, meaning most days he finds himself throwing out countless pies.

He has even had to take out multiple loans in order to pay rent on the shop after being denied compensation by Auckland Transport.

“When the sale is not going it’s hard to pay staff, and for me I’m not taking any salary because when I earn some money, I just buy the food for my bakery and make it.”

Singh said Auckland Transport has told him works will be done by Christmas, but after multiple delays he does not feel confident.

Fences and cones have been a feature outside Avi’s Pies and Patisserie for months now. Photo / Evie Richardson, RNZ

“I took the loan because I was thinking for two months, I can survive with no one helping me, they will be gone, nearby Christmas, before Christmas, but they’re not so now I have to keep asking the loan company can you help me a little bit more so I can survive for another two months.”

The last thing Singh wants to do is close the doors on his dream business that he only opened last year, but he fears if things don’t wrap up soon, it could come to that.

“Maybe I will close the business then, because it’s a financial hardship. I already took so many loans for surviving, now I don’t know how it will go because I asked the council, I asked AT, I asked the landlord for compensation to help me for a couple of months until the roadworks are gone.”

Down the road, Steven Joeng from the Newton Fish and Chippery is also feeling the pinch.

The roadworks have been constant outside his shop since June.

“The last two or three months business has been so, so bad. Especially during lunchtime, I think I’m losing business by 50 to 60 per cent.”

Earlier in the year, high fences surrounded his shop, completely blocking it from view.

Owner of Alloy Wheel Repair Ashley Ghillam can’t count how much money the business has lost as a result of the roadworks. Photo / Evie Richardson, RNZ

“I’ve been here for 23 years and it’s the worst thing that’s ever happened. Covid is not that bad, this is worse than Covid in terms of the business, in terms of the sales.”

Joeng is frustrated at the slow progress of the project and said many businesses on the street ha,e reached out to Auckland Transport in hopes of a helping hand.

“We emailed Auckland Transport to see whether we can get some compensation, even a little bit to cover the loss, and their feedback to us is that this is not their responsibility. Their responsibility is to look after the road so it’s safe for everyone, I said this is not the case, safe or not safe, this is a case of I’m losing so much business because of this project.”

Across the road from the chippy, the owner of Alloy Wheel Repair, Ashley Ghillam, said he was forced to close his business for a week while work was done in front of their driveway.

“It has certainly affected the business with people not being able to access the business. Half the time they couldn’t even get into King St. I don’t know what it has cost us, but it’s definitely had an impact on the business, and on staff. The yard was out of action for a week, so there’s a week’s rent gone, about $1700.”

Owner of Charlie Boys Coffee Company Nick Meng says the roadworks have been a disaster for business. Photo / Evie Richardson, RNZ

No compensation was offered by Auckland Transport to cover the losses.

Further up the road, owner of Charlie Boys Coffee Nick Meng said if it hadn’t been for a loyal group of regulars, his business would have struggled to pull through.

The roadworks first popped up outside Meng’s cafe in March, and for two months a high fence completely blocked the cafe from view.

“It was disaster, there were no people all day,”

Like many other businesses, Meng is frustrated by the lack of parking available during the construction.

He said this cut out an entire portion of their customer base.

“The reason we survived is because this a long-running cafe, it’s been here for 15 years ... because the regulars support us we can survive.”

The Newton Fish and Chippery has seen up to a 60 per cent drop in business since construction began outside the shop in June. Photo / Evie Richardson, RNZ

He said they were told work would occur on their section of the road for two months, but nine months later, cones are still scattered outside the storefront.

In a statement, Auckland Transport said construction has been ongoing since January and it plans to have the road resurfacing done by December 19, however work may be delayed by bad weather.

They said everything possible is being done to maintain access to businesses, “including allowing parking in areas where we are not working directly outside of, and providing information about the project and who to contact with any issues they have”.

Work is now taking place overnight to allow for more extensive road closures.

Given the agency provided the necessary communications prior to and during construction, AT said, there was no justified claim for compensation.

Mayor Wayne Brown, who has frequently decried the excessive use of road cones and lane closures in the city, was unavailable to comment.

-RNZ