Hulme shopkeeper sees '85% loss' in earnings after road closes without warning

Abdul Quyyum was left shocked when he saw the road had been shut off without any warning Credit: MEN Media

A Hulme shopkeeper says he is "furious" after losing 85 per cent of his business in one day due to a sudden road closure.Abdul Quyyum runs Abdul's Supermarket on Greenheys Lane in Hulme, and was left shocked on Friday 25 October when he saw the road had been shut off without any warning with plastic barriers, traffic cones, and road closure signs stretched across Greenheys Lane.

The road was shut as part of a large-scale development project, with a "life sciences and innovation hub" being built by construction firm Willmott Dixon at Manchester Science Park. The work is scheduled for completion in summer 2026.The council has since said the road was only shut "on a temporary basis" and has since reopened earlier than planned.

Manchester City Council says the work has now been completed ahead of schedule Credit: MEN Media

But despite the authority saying a letter drop was carried out to inform residents of the works, Abdul has claimed that he did not have any notice that the road would be closed and lost a huge chunk of trade during the days it was shut.

He explained that he gets a lot of business from people passing by from the Princess Road nearby, and feared that customers would not return after the closure.He said: "They have no consideration for the people who are there whatsoever. We are there to live and let live, but be reasonable. My take was down 85 per cent on Monday. Now they've [his customers] gone elsewhere they are not going to come back."

He added: "We've never been given any notice whatsoever by any authority. Normally if anything like that happens we all get the letter, they stick them on the lampposts and we have the right to object."It's not emergency work, it's not gas or anything, I can understand that. This is a long project."

A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: "As is often the case with large-scale developments there may be times when road closures are needed to facilitate works - in this case, the developer required a temporary road closure to install a drainage connection to the site. This has now been completed and the road has reopened, a week earlier than anticipated."Prior to the works starting warning signs were installed, and a letter drop was carried out to notify surrounding businesses and residents to make sure they were aware of the temporary disruption."Willmott Dixon has been contacted for comment.

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