A BUSINESS owner in the south side of Glasgow has been forced to close one of her shops after prolonged engineering works drove customers away.

Helen Martin had no choice but to shut her shop La Chique Boutique on Victoria Road due to a lack of business.

The 55-year-old’s other business, Elen’s Alterations, also on Victoria Road, is struggling to survive after losing customers due to restricted access to the street caused by engineering works.

Helen is one of several business owners in the area fearing for their future due to the year-long work on the Shieldhall Tunnel costing them thousands of pounds and nearly all of their customers.

A stretch of Queen’s Drive and Langside Road was closed on May 23 last year to allow Scottish Water to carry out the £100 million work.

The roads, which were due to reopen next month, will now remain closed until September due to unforeseen circumstances.

Helen said: “I had to close La Chique Boutique after just a year and a half because of the lack of customers.

“We were opened for a while before the work started and we were getting a lot of business for proms and things so it’s definitely because of the road works.

“I’ve lost so much money and I’ve had to move all the stock into my house. It’s been a complete nightmare.

“Some of the road workers came in the other day and said they don’t think it will be done until December. I don’t know if we can survive that long, we’re all really struggling.

“A lot of my customers are pensioners who rely on the bus to get them here, but the bus can’t get down Victoria Road and many people don’t want to get off at Allison Street.”

Mary Dickson, who works in Sunshine Electrical also on Victoria Road, described the last few months as “soul destroying”.

She added: “It’s been awful, some shops have closed completely and others are having to cut down their opening hours to save money.

“We’ve looked into getting a rates rebate or some kind of compensation because the work has hit us so hard financially but we’re not getting anywhere.”

Business owners now have the added stress of impending work on a 3km cycle route, which was announced last year.

The route will stretch from Victoria Road to Stockwell Street junction and is aimed at providing people with a safe, vehicle-free route to walk or cycle from the south side into the city centre.

The Scottish Government backed scheme is still currently in the proposals stage but is due for completion in 2018

Ahead of plans being finalised, the Bike Station will be holding a stall on Victoria Road today with the latest proposals for the section of the route.

A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council said: "We have written to the businesses along Victoria Road about the proposals and they are invited to attend a drop-in session, specifically for the traders, next week.

"The businesses are a vital part in the successful development of the SCW and it’s important that we know their needs so we can factor them into the final designs."

A spokesman for Scottish Water said: "Scottish Water is advising road users in part of the south of Glasgow of an extension to some road traffic management as we progress with work on the construction of the Shieldhall Tunnel.

"A short stretch of Queen’s Drive/Langside Road, near the tennis courts, has been closed since May 2016 and we had expected to be able to re-open it this month.

"However, the road closure has had to be extended and we now anticipate that it will re-open in September.

"The reason for the extension to the road closure is that the infrastructure Scottish Water is upgrading is more than 100 years old and, following the excavation of a shaft and a review of some existing infrastructure, some aspects of the planned work required additional design.

"Scottish Water apologises for any inconvenience to road users, residents and businesses affected by the extension to the road closure and thanks them for their patience and understanding.

"We have liaised with affected businesses and will continue to do so."