“We did get a letter from the council a couple of weeks ago saying the work would take 13 weeks and we wrote back saying the work had to be done before our peak trading time before Christmas.

“All we need is some bad weather and it might push the work into that peak period,” he said.

However, many businesses along Carp St are not Chamber of Commerce members and remained unaware of the development until arriving at work on Monday morning.

“They [the council] seem to think it’s our job to let everyone know,” Mr Barnes said.

“There are shops like the Nook [Tea and Espresso Bar] who aren’t part of the Chamber who have arrived back at work after a winter break to find they’ve got no business.

“Council doesn’t seem to want to listen to us.

“They spend thousands of dollars on consultants instead of talking to us for free,” he said.

Mr Barnes feels the work should have taken place during the quieter winter months, but does understand there are difficulties involved.

“Maybe they should have started a few months ago when it is particularly quiet,” he said.

“I appreciate that it’s hard to find a window that doesn’t affect businesses, but this is going to affect customers, businesses and the council financially in the long run.”

Mr Barnes said he had been approached multiple times on Monday morning by concerned members of the public wanting answers.

“People have been stopping me all morning thinking the Chamber is part of the council asking me what is going on,” he said.

RELATED COVERAGE