Music venue owner says town centre works are 'destroying' his business
A music venue owner says works in a town centre are 'destroying' his business.
Howard Kirk owns The Venue, a live music hall and television production facility in Chapel Road, Worthing.
Outside the building, Hemiko, an investor, developer, and operator of heat networks, is carrying out works to implement a sustainable network in the town.
Mr Kirk has reported that the works are disrupting the day-to-day running of the venue, with no concerts being held this year.
He said: 'It has almost destroyed the business.
'Any artists in tour buses or that have trucks are totally out of the question.
'We were down 60 per cent on our music shows thanks to the works and the actions of Worthing Borough Council and we are 100 per cent down on our filming, which is down to access, noise from the works and actions of Worthing Borough Council.
Hemiko working on the new heat network outside High Street car park (Image: Sussex News and Pictures) 'They are preventing us from using our building, they have destroyed our business and reputation and robbed us of our livelihood.'
Mr Kirk also reported car parking challenges impacting customers, who were previously able to use a car park in Stoke Abbott Road, which is now a medical centre.
Grafton multi-storey car park on Worthing seafront was also closed last week due to 'concrete failing'.
'The car park situation is crazy, and again has an impact on us', he said.
'The car park spaces available with the works are next to nothing and to be shared with the Assembly Halls.'
A number of other businesses in Worthing town centre have reported being impacted by the works, experiencing a drop in trade and footfall.
Worthing Borough Council said Hemiko is looking to speak with Mr Kirk about the issues, adding that works will be paused over the summer holidays.
A spokesman said 'We're saddened to see how a number of businesses and residents have reacted to the construction of the Worthing Heat Network.
'Along with Hemiko, our partner delivering the project, we're taking any concerns extremely seriously and have arranged in-person meetings with business owners and representatives of our town centre's traders to understand their worries and, where possible, make compromises to reduce disruption.
'Hemiko also holds monthly sounding board meetings with various stakeholders across the town to provide construction updates, help increase awareness of their upcoming works and take onboard feedback.
'We're approaching the end of this phase of the project, which has unfortunately seen unavoidable disruption caused to key areas of our town centre.
"We understand how challenging this has been for businesses, visitors and people living in our town centre, and can only thank everyone for their patience during this period.
'We understand that some residents and businesses are feeling frustrated at the disruption that is taking place right now, but we retain our belief that the network will play a crucial part in not only our decarbonisation journey, but that of the hospital as well and supporting others across the town to connect in future.
'The project will bring sustainable heating to buildings and homes in the borough, cut the town's carbon emissions by thousands of tonnes of year and create hundreds of jobs, with Hemiko expecting to have created up to 500 jobs by 2050.'
Hemiko was approached for comment.
The first phase of the Worthing heat network is expected to be completed by 2026.
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