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Traders rue 'horrendous' Metro extension delays

James Bovillin Birmingham
BBC Robina Shah is wearing a red low cut top, red lipstick and has pink hair. She is standing in front of safety barriers with workmen behind her BBC
Cafe owner Robina Shah said the work had had an "horrendous" impact on her business

Transport bosses claim an extension to the Midland Metro tram system will eventually support business and fuel "major new investment and regeneration", but hospitality firms in the path of the work have told the BBC construction is killing their trade.

Nineteen months of construction on Meriden Street in Digbeth, Birmingham, was due to finish at the end of May, but has been delayed until at least the end of June.

Robina Shah, who runs Nexus Cafe, said: "Sales are less than staff costs. We're just trying to survive".

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) said: "We fully appreciate that construction can be challenging", and added it had introduced additional shifts to speed up work.

Shah was forced to close Nexus completely for three days last week without warning, she said, while the path in front was repaved.

She described the work as "horrendous", adding that sales had dropped from up to £10,000 per month, a daily average of over £300, to as little as £11.24 per day.

She said: "It's a big kick in the teeth. This was my only source of income which has just disappeared. I'm not getting by, I'm living with my cousin because I couldn't afford my rent any more."

Peter Connolly is standing behind the bar at Nortons, holding a beer pump, wearing a pink and white striped shirt.
Peter Connolly said customers coming to Nortons to watch the World Cup had struggled to find the entrance

Peter Connolly from Nortons bar said the work had been "really detrimental to trade", adding: "You can't see us from the high street, it's very difficult for customers to get home at night."

The venue surveyed 265 of its customers on social media, with 97 percent saying the work had made it more difficult to identify the venue was open, two-thirds had difficulty finding the entrance, and 80 per cent felt less safe.

Both business owners criticised what they saw as a lack of communication from TfWM. The transport body said "our staff routinely meet with businesses to address concerns and provide additional support where available."

Nortons was not eligible for a compensation scheme because it only applied to businesses with a turnover of less than £500,000 per year.

Mr Connolly said: "The only levers we can pull to help ourselves is to make a big deal of it, and then they hurry up."

Three construction workers in orange jumpsuits work on the tram tracks on Meriden Street, with a vehicle next to them. More workers are in the background.
TfWM has introduced additional shifts to reduce the delays

The work is part of the Birmingham Eastside Metro extension, connecting the city centre with a new terminus at High Street Deritend, via the HS2 Curzon Street Station. The section is due to open in 2028.

TfWM said that by "delivering reliable mass transit to Digbeth", the Eastside Metro extension would bring long-term economic benefits to the area.

James Kennedy, the secretary of the Friends of Bradford Street community group, said: "The majority of people who live here don't drive, so the quicker that we get to use the tram the better. At the same time we are aware there's been a lot of issues with the way it's been managed."

Midland Metro Alliance A map showing the Eastside extension route with stops at Albert Street, Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Meriden Street and Digbeth High Street. Midland Metro Alliance
Meriden Street, in the centre of the map, is part of the route linking the existing network to Digbeth and the HS2 terminus at Curzon Street.

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