BELEAGUERED traders in a parade of shops are facing yet another day of disruption this weekend, as they brace themselves to be without electricity on their busiest trading day of the week.
A number of a businesses in Woodford Green Broadway will be without electricity for several hours on Saturday (July 31) while supplier EDF Energy carries out maintenance work in the area.
This means the company will dig up brand new pavements which were laid just weeks ago as part of a £600,000 Transport for London scheme.
In recent months businesses have had to contend with the work to the pavements along the entire length of the parade of shops, renovations to the car park outside Woodford underground station, and repairs to the gas mains under the road, which created traffic chaos for nearly two months.
Pauline Latham, owner of Café & Co., said: “It's absolutely outrageous. There's no way I can open, my fridges will all be off, I won't be able to operate the coffee machine or cook anything.
“I'll lose a day's trade and there will be no compensation for us at all. They simply cannot do it, it has to be stopped.
“Why couldn't they have done it on a Sunday? Or before the new pavements were laid?
“With all the works that's gone on it's like they're trying to kill off businesses.”
To make matters worse, traders have only been given a week's notice for the interruption to their power supply, which they say is nowhere near enough time to make alternative arrangements.
Chris Tompkins, who runs Kistrucks Bakery, said: “They've given us a week's warning, and when I spoke to the company they said that was long enough to sort something else out, which is just crazy.
“I'm in there from midnight and I don't know how I'm going to bake anything for my customers without power.”
The Guardian has asked EDF Energy and Redbridge Council to comment on the upcoming disruption.
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