Businesses blasted the closure of a Dumfries town centre road after a derelict building started to crumble.
Safety fears forced Dumfries and Galloway Council to shut English Street to traffic when slates fell from the former Treasure Cave store “which is in imminent danger of collapse”.
A demolition company was called in and is now preparing a report for the council.
Firms which have seen a takings slump have criticised the council for failing to deal with the building before now.
Slipstream bar manager Jacqui Dickson told the Standard: “We have a roaring trade at the weekend and last weekend was the worst in my 23 years here. It was awful.
“People come here after coming off the train and passing by. But there is a couples association that comes up from Carlisle by train regularly but they didn’t come here last Saturday because they were told the street was shut off.
“I know that because I bumped into them and they said they were told the whole place was closed off and they walked up Newall Terrace instead and round into the town.
“They were told that it was shut to pedestrians as well as vehicles.”
Ms Dickson added: “I cannot believe it’s got to this stage. I have been shouting about this building across the road for years.
“That was our worst weekend apart from when Covid hit. We have scaffolding outside our pub because the roof on the top floor is being repaired and now we have fencing and stuff on the road outside to block the road to vehicles.
“I don’t know yet how I am going to organise deliveries to my place, but we’ll get there in the end and I can tell punters that we are still open for business.”
Callum McKay, 62, is the owner of the independent electrical goods shop TN McKay which is attached to the former Treasure Cave building.
He told how he heard a loud noise last week which was a wooden beam crashing inside the crumbling edifice.
Mr McKay said: “Last Tuesday we heard a big bang so we put ladders up (at the back of the shop) and saw bricks had landed on the roof of Taddei’s Takeaway next door and that the beam that fell had gone into the side of his wall knocking out bricks.
“It is absolutely hellish, terrible.
“I have an issue with no access, an issue with no customers and an issue with safety.
“I have been here for 40 years and we have business interruption insurance if we are required to close.”
Mr McKay added: “The demolition people came and said it needs to come down, no question about it. The council have asked them for a report and one guy told us that was about taking the roof off without taking the front out.”
Hairdresser Glenda Talaszko, of Salon 67, has suffered a drop in client numbers since reports of the street being shut down.
She said: “It’s awful. It’s not very good for business. I have put a message on Facebook to say it is still open to pedestrians. No buses can come down and that has been a problem for us.
“A lot of people think its closed so that’s why I put the message up.
“During the pandemic we were shut for eight months and that’s us just getting back on our feet.”
Ms Talaszko, 63, added: “I have been here for 38 years and this is just awful. I don’t even know how we will get our bins collected.
“We’ve not heard anything from the council.”
A council spokeswoman said: “Last Friday afternoon, it was necessary for our officers to impose an emergency road closure on English Street due to an unsafe building.
“Our officers have been in contact with the owner regarding this building so that the matter can be addressed.”
“We will be working with the owner and council over the coming days to start demolition works on the building.”
