Ever wonder what happens to the businesses when the Olympics come to town? The Telegraph has the story of one man, Michael Spinks, and the effect it has already had on his business.
He understands the company’s main access route will be completely closed during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and may be restricted between the two events. The “one viable alternative route†may be closed for at least 18 hours a day.
Mr Spinks is currently awaiting a decision from Hackney Council over whether he’ll even be able to operate between midnight and 6am. “With no guarantee we can receive vehicles at night, the only thing that will guarantee our survival is a move away,†he says. “The rest is chance and I don’t think the Olympics should be making me play Russian roulette with my business.â€
Customers are getting twitchy, he says, and a handful have already deserted the business. “A few customers have got in touch but we don’t know if we can make the deliveries, so we don’t have a story to tell. When we’ve said we may only be able to deliver at night, they’ve said ‘no thanks’. Once they’re gone, I can’t expect them to come back.â€
Londoners have been told to prepare for 100 days of disruption during the games – a number which Locog has been keen to suggest overplays the threat. For Mr Spinks, however, even fewer than 50 days of heavily disrupted trading could be enough to send a business that operates on thin margins over the edge.
Photo by Jason