07:10 Monday 26th March 2012
Peterborough Breakfast Show
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
PAUL STAINTON: Work to revamp Cowgate which is supposed to start at the end of March now won’t begin until August. The £800,000 makeover includes the extension for Primark in Queensgate. But businesses in the area are not happy. Simon Baker is from the Sports Lounge in King Street. Morning.
SIMON BAKER: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: So the revamp was supposed to start at the end of this week, wasn’t it?
SIMON BAKER: Yes. All the guys from Primark were supposed to be out by the end of February. And I only got informed by the local press on Friday that it had all been put back again. It’s becoming an absolute nightmare for us. Our trade has just plummeted really, because of all the work on Primark. And if you ever walk past King Street, it just looks like a building site. And it has been for the past two or three months now. And it’s really really starting to affect us badly. I didn’t mind putting up with it because I knew it was short term. I’ve got fantastic relationships with all the planning guys. With the Council, it just seems to be I don’t know what’s going on.
08:15
PAUL STAINTON: We did ask the Council to come on this morning and tell us what was going on. They couldn’t. They did send us a statement. They said: “The work on Cowgate is dependent on the progress of Primark. At this stage we’re in discussions with the developers working on the new Primark store, and an exact timeline will be clearer towards the end of the week.” But it’s not clear for local businesses who are suffering at the moment.
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