A hairdresser feels she is being ignored by council officials as a footpath issue continues to wreak havoc in her salon.
Emma Bouttell has been dealing with dampness inside Emma & Co Hair Design in Soham, which has closed off part of the salon, since May.
“The dampness has spread across the floor so while we’re waiting for repair, the damp has spread every day,” said Emma.
“It is slowly getting worse.”
Pictures from inside the salon show where part of the floor near the shopfront has been ripped up due to water coming in, with joists rotting away.
After speaking to a dampness specialist and a local builder, Emma was told that the issue stemmed from the footpath directly outside the salon on Churchgate Street.
But having spoken to Cambridgeshire County Council about the issue around 10 weeks ago, little progress has been made.
“The issue could come back in two to three years, so the footpath outside the shop needs to be raised or lowered,” she said.
“I’d say 10 per cent of our usual takings have been affected by the dampness, which is quite a lot when you are still trying to recover from Covid.”
It is the second time in four years that Emma has been affected by dampness inside the salon.
A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson said they have spoken to Emma & Co Hair Design about the issues.
“Whilst we understand their frustrations with the dampness, we have checked the footpath and cannot see any faults,” they said.
“We’re happy to work with them on the next steps and look into the matter further when we have more information.”
Emma, who has been running the hairdressers for four-and-a-half years, works with three other staff members.
They have had to adapt to different working hours because of the dampness, and if the situation continues, Emma fears what could happen next.
“The council are completely ignoring us,” she added.
“If the footpath is not fixed, we’ll be in a situation as it will have a massive knock-on effect for us.
“But if the council fix the issue, I think it may never need fixing again.”
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