A business owner in Motherwell has had to shut up shop claiming council renovations on the floor above caused part of his ceiling to fall down.
Russell Wright has operated as a personal trainer for two decades on Brandon Street, however, he says he has now had to cancel numerous appointments as a result of the damage.
The old YMCA building on the road is being converted into six new flats as part of a larger residential plan in the North Lanarkshire town. Russell says the issues began as soon as the work started back in 2022.
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He told Glasgow Live: "They started renovating the site a year ago and I've had problems ever since. As they carried out work above me, my ceiling fell, smashed into the floor and covered the place in dust and has now put me out of business for a couple days.
"This is an ongoing issue with the council. I'm at the end of my tether here and I think its an absolute disgrace that they are turning an old building into five flats while I'm still there.
"I've reporting this for over a year. It started off as a simple crack in the roof and it just continued to get worse.
"If someone had been at the time they could've been seriously injured.
"I felt sick when I saw the damage."
A few preventative measures were suggested by the local authority but it ended up being too little too late and now the business owner is losing money.
The personal trainer said: "Up until three or four months ago, when dust started to dropping from the ceiling, they suggested I put down some sheets.
"How can I work and help clients in the gym when there are sheets all over the floor? I think they now meant they wanted to put a sheet on the ceiling to catch the debris, which they are now doing.
"The contractors have offered to repair the ceiling as well. In my opinion I shouldn't be in anyway disturbed by the work, I should be able to carry on my business as normal.
"If it's not hammering, there's banging and now my roof has fallen down. This is probably going to carry on for over a year."
The damage and the ongoing renovations are not only taking a toll on the business owner financially, but it is starting to severly impact his mental health
Russell said: "I'm waiting on a net going up, but what is going through my head is that I can't sustain this.
"The scaffolding goes up next week and they've already knocked down three quarters of the building behind me. I've been here for 20 years and never experienced something like this before."
A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: “We are aware of reported damage to the ceiling of a property adjacent to the site of new council housing being constructed at Brandon Street in Motherwell. Immediate action has been taken to secure the building and assess the condition of the property.
“We are in dialogue with the affected business owner to provide support where required. Building specialists are undertaking an investigation to establish the cause and extent of the damage.
“The new council homes will provide additional modern and affordable properties for social rent as part of our wider regeneration plans for the town.”
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