WISBECH: Woodshop owner says she's been forced out of business by work on Nene waterfront

Story by: TOM JACKSON

SHOPKEEPER Pat Rose has given up any hope of recovering her once-fledging business, after customers were driven away by work on the Nene Waterfront scheme.

Ms Rose has spent all her savings to try and secure the future of the Woodshop in Wisbech, even taking up a part-time job in a clothes shop to make ends meet.

But she has admitted defeat for her 10-year-old business, which now takes in less than £100 a day.

"I have been trying to keep the shop going, but I have got to give it up," she said. "By staying open I was hoping it would return to normal but I have just got more into debt.

"It has all got too much. I only rent the building so have to pay that before I can pay my assistant - and then there are all the utility bills and phone lines to pay for."

Ms Rose's troubles started this time last year when work started on the Boathouse, at the heart of the Nene Waterfront regeneration project. Contractors tearing up roads and nearby footpaths cut the business off from her customers.

The 59-year-old received compensation last year from Fenland District Council, which also paid for an advert in the Wisbech Standard.

But Ms Rose said the damage had already been done, with regular customers not returning once road works were completed and staying away while the Boathouse was built.

Ms Rose said: "I was hoping to carry on until I retired but it is not going to go that way. I have to give up.

"My accountant said last year I should consider closing, but I thought trade might pick up again and I said I would give it more time.

"But with the prices at chains like B&Q so much more than mine, I thought people would be encouraged to come here. Unfortunately that's not been the case."

One part-time job will be lost under the closure, that of Ms Rose's sister Sue Bowman. The shop will close at the end of the month.

Ms Rose said: "I want to thank my clients for their custom over the years.