Skipton A59 repairs costing cafe £2,000 a week, says owner

A North Yorkshire cafe owner has said road repairs were costing her business £2,000 a week, forcing her to reduce staffing and cut opening hours.

Dalesway Cafe sits on the A59 near Skipton, which has been closed for seven weeks following a landslip.

Owner Kate Bailey said: "I have had to let four staff go. Communication from the council has been non-existent."

North Yorkshire Council apologised for the inconvenience and said repairs were expected to take around six weeks.

"The tables would normally be full of hungry customers, " said Ms Bailey.

"The cafe can still be accessed via the nearby Haw Park roundabout but despite signs being put up, many customers think it is closed."

Ms Bailey bought the business four years ago and said she was proud of how she had built it up from a two-star hygiene certification to a five-star rating.

She said: "It is not only my livelihood, I have made lots of friends.

"It is really difficult to get good honest hard-working staff nowadays. We had the best team.

"It has also had an impact on the people we buy our goods off. We buy locally, so they will all be impacted by it."

"I received updates about the closure second-hand from customers, "she said, adding she was frustrated by the "total lack of communication" from North Yorkshire Council.

She added: "It has been seven weeks. I could have done it quicker with a wheelbarrow and some chippings, it makes me feel like that sometimes."

North Yorkshire Council's corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, said: "The original repair that we were proposing has had to be changed, as the condition of the road has worsened.

"We now have an agreed specification for the works and a contractor lined up to install the metal sheet piles which will stabilise the road.

"We will shortly be issuing the contract for the works, which we anticipate will take approximately six weeks.

"We are proposing to do some night working to get the road reopened as quickly as we can.

"As soon as the contract is signed and we have an agreed programme, we will update the public."

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