Shabz Miah from Dilqush Indian Restaurant & Takeaway, Birkenhead(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
A Merseyside Indian restaurant manager fears they “may be forced to close”, blaming roadworks and Merseyside’s “Wotsit street” putting people off visiting the area. Shabz Miah, who manages the Dilqush Indian Restaurant and Takeaway in Birkenhead, said they were just about hanging on.
In a recent post on their Facebook page, the restaurant on Grange Road West said: “It truly saddens us to say this, but due to a lack of dine-in customers we may be forced to close our restaurant in the near future. We’re reaching out to our amazing local community for support.
“The road outside has now fully reopened, and we would really appreciate it if more of you could dine in with us and help keep a local independent business alive.”
While not on the section of the road dubbed “Wotsit street” for its colourful road markings, the restaurant said: “The long period of roadworks has had a big impact on our dine-in trade, even though our food continues to be loved by many.”
The business opened last year as a family run restaurant(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Shabz Miah, who manages the restaurant, said the recent regeneration works in Birkenhead town centre had impacted their business as barriers and delays put people off visiting. They opened as a family run restaurant in July 2024, just a few months after works began.
The works were part of a major regeneration scheme with new paving, road layouts, benches, and trees with most of it now finished. Grange Road West has been turned into a temporary one way street with an orange and yellow design.
He said: “It’s been almost a year. We get really good feedback from people. Our takeaway side has been brilliant but the dining side has been dead. It’s been costly for us at the moment because we can’t get many dining in.
“We are just about hanging on with it. We wanted to get some help from the local community and they were pouring in with love and we are grateful for that.”
Shabz Miah from Dilqush Indian Restaurant & Takeaway, Birkenhead.(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Shabz said: “Even when we do not have the customers, we always have to be ready. We have to pay wages and then the electricity bill is quite high.
“The big part to blame is the road works that are always going on for so long. People do not want to come in that way with the delays and the traffic.
“Everyone has laughed at the road because of what they have done with the road markings and the benches. I would say that is one of the biggest reasons that we do not have that many people coming inside.
“It was supposed to be different, like Bold Street in Liverpool but it’s nothing like that. We thought we will just get a little foot traffic, we thought it would look a bit nicer.”
However since the post, he said they had had some of the busiest days in the restaurant since they opened, adding: “Our local community has been fantastic to us. They do not want us to go.
“With the customers support, we can go forward rather than sitting in the same position. We do not want to let go of this. We are going to try our best to keep it.”
Road markings on Grange Road West have been mocked on social media(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Wirral Council has previously said the aim of the Grange Road West scheme was “to provide better access and connection to the shops, cafes and other services” and “make the area more attractive in order drive increased footfall to the businesses and improve road safety – while still maintaining access for cars”.
It will be trialled for six months before people will be asked for feedback. Several businesses who previously spoke to the ECHO said they wanted full pedestrianisation and criticised the current layout.
The local authority has also offered free car parking at its multistorey car parks as well as a number of events in the town centre. This is in the hope of driving more footfall back into the town.
Wirral Council was approached for comment.