THE owner of an Andover hairdressers has hit out at scaffolding which has covered his shopfront for eight months and is now causing a drop in customers. 

Gerald Kingsley has been in the town for nine years, and running Ark Hair Design on High Street for the past five years. 

In June 2022 scaffolding was erected on the front of the hairdressers to repair a corner of the building, but now Gerald said it is damaging his business.

Gerald said: “The scaffolding has been up here since June 2022. It’s an eyesore anyway, but now they’ve wrapped the scaffolding in plastic, it hides my shop from view from the high street. It’s affected my day-to-day business.

Andover Advertiser:

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"It looks like the store isn’t open, and people walking past looking to get a haircut are going elsewhere. A lot of my business is from people popping in for a cut, and as a result, I’m the one losing customers.”

Gerald said he had contacted both Test Valley Borough Council and Hampshire County Council for details on when the scaffolding would be removed.

“No one takes any responsibility for an issue,” Gerald continued. “They pass the problem from one to the other without trying to help. I have no idea what is going on.”

The scaffolding has also resulted in the car parking spaces on High Street being temporarily closed, which Gerald said had prevented disabled or less mobile customers from coming into his shop.

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The scaffolding is up to repair a crack in the brickwork on the side of the building. Gerald said: “It’s been up eight months and no one has been out to do anything to try and repair the building.

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“It’s hard and stressful having to deal with this along with the cost-of-living crisis. I’ve never had a problem with business before but now it’s a real struggle. I haven’t been offered any help or compensation when I’ve had to go without the trade that I used to get, and it’s through no fault of my own."

A county council spokesperson said: "We can confirm that the county council has issued a license to the scaffolding company for erecting scaffolding on the public highway. Any further questions pertaining to the work that is being carried out would need to be addressed to Test Valley Borough Council – Building Control."

A spokesperson for Test Valley Borough Council said: "The owner installed the scaffolding due to serious concerns about the structure of the front of the building. While this is therefore a matter for the owner to resolve, we recognise how frustrating this must be for the businesses affected and we too have raised the issue of how long it is taking. We have been encouraging them to undertake the repairs as quickly as possible to enable the scaffolding to be removed, as we are also keen to bring the nearby disabled bays back into use.

“We have been liaising with the owners to ensure that the work is carried out in line with the necessary conservation legislation as the building is listed, and have reiterated the need for them to complete the work as soon as they can. The leader of the council is also writing to the owner to try and ensure the matter is brought to a close swiftly."