A Fulham restaurant’s sales are plummeting after a four-metre sinkhole which a woman fell down a month ago is yet to be fixed, according to the manager.
Barricades that surround the hole outside Marrakech Express on North End Road appear to be keeping would-be customers away as they assume it’s closed.
Manager of Marrakech Express, Mohammed Atillah, 49, told SW Londoner that he had warned the council about the sagging pavement back in 2013 and again two weeks before the woman fell down it on April 23.
HOLEY HELL: Fulham sinkhole which a woman fell in last month (© Kate Sissons)
Mr Atillah, who helped rescue the woman, explained that the hole is dangerous and elderly people wanting to get to the nearby bus stop are forced to walk into the road.
He said: “If someone could take over from me I would leave, I’ve had enough and can’t carry on anymore.
“I buy the food every morning and at night I throw it all away –I don’t make money at all and I’m struggling for rent, I don’t know what to do.
“This hole scares me, I want to make the basement clean and nice but I can’t, I’m worried that more of it will fall down.”
DIRTY: The basement remains filled with debris
Mr Atillah, who claims to pay nearly £10,000 a year in council tax, said two of his staff have stopped coming to work and he thinks it’s because they want to get out of the struggling business.
According to the restaurant manager a dispute between the landlord of the building and the council over who is responsible for repairing the hole means that nothing has been done.
“The landlord has money and the council has money, but no one cares about us,” said Mr Atillah. “I’ve never had any problems with the landlord before – we have a good relationship.”
WHAT LIES BENEATH: Looking up at the pavement from the basement
A Hammersmith and Fulham Council spokesman said that the landlord is responsible for fixing the pavement and there is no record of any complaints filed by Mr Atillah.
He said: “Making the pavement safe is a priority for us and we are acting to resolve this as quickly as possible.
“Responsibility for the basement roof lies with the freeholder of the building and we have asked them to undertake the repairs immediately.
“Should this not happen, the council will undertake the repairs itself in order to make the pavement safe and will reclaim the costs from the freeholder.”
The landlord of the property has been approached for a comment.
