A pub boss is furious after being given only 15 minutes notice that a construction project was about to start right outside his front door.
Jim Gardiner, who runs the Clachnaharry Inn, is livid with the lack of warning he was given prior to work beginning outside his premises.
The work, part of the citywide roll-out of broadband by CityFibre, is being done by GCU Utilities.
Pub already hit by impact of Covid and Christmas cancellations
Mr Gardiner’s business has already been hit by Covid restrictions and Christmas cancellations, with the latest issue severely affecting trade.
He said: “January is usually bad enough for everybody in the pub and hospitality sector.
“It is just not right to turn up at 7.30am on a Monday banging on the pub door and telling me that you want my stuff moved.
“There has been absolutely no communication at all to say this is happening.
“The first I knew they were coming was as they were banging on the front door.”
Pub customers put off by works
Mr Gardiner has said that customers have turned away, fearing the inn was closed.
The number of regulars attending has dropped from between 10 to 15 each night to between three and six.
He has said staff have also been held up waiting for barriers to be moved.
He added: “We have customers coming down and questioning if we are open or not.
“My regulars keep me going through the winter. They are good but on Monday we only had three and about six on Tuesday.
“Normally I would have 10 to 15 of them in between 3.30pm and 8pm.”
The landlord has said he has been unable to take deliveries at the inn due to the work, leaving him to have to shuttle back and forth between his suppliers to keep the pub stocked.
Mr Gardiner has said he has had to park around half-a-mile from the inn and take numerous trips to get stock into the pub.
He added: “This has been terribly organised.
“A letter through the door would have been enough.”
In December, the Clachnaharry Inn lost out on an estimated £11,000 due to more than 200 Christmas cancellations.
Mr Gardiner has said the impact has led to he and his wife dipping into their savings to ensure staff wages were paid.
Communications protocol not followed correctly
CityFibre list on their website that a letter should be hand delivered a week before work commences in an area.
The firm say they endeavour to communicate plans ahead of time to manage any potential disruptions.
Allan McEwan, CityFibre’s city manager for Inverness, said: “We are very sorry that, on this occasion, our communications protocols was not followed correctly, and insufficient notice was given ahead of work commencing.
“Measures have been put in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
“We’d like to thank everyone for bearing with us as we deliver this critical infrastructure work which is already enabling broadband users across the city to access the fastest and most reliable internet services available in the UK.”