Cross Gates: Hit Coffee shop owner in tears as train station closure threatens future of business
The owner of a popular commuter coffee shop inside a Yorkshire train station was left in tears on Saturday morning as a series of closures threatened her business.
Katie Ramsden, 31, is the owner of Hit Coffee based at Cross Gates train station.
Earlier this year, TRU announced plans to rebuild Station Road railway bridge in Cross Gates between March and November this year as part of its programme of improvements to deliver more frequent services.
However, the works have led to the closure of the railway line attached to Cross Gates station – which the coffee shop is housed in – during upcoming weekends including June 7 and 8.
Bus replacement services will be instead offered, with train services being diverted or replaced.
On Saturday morning, Katie put out a rally cry to customers on Facebook.
In the plea, she said: “We need your help more than ever.
"I honestly feel drained.
"My instinct reaction was to cry.
"It is heartbreaking to see everything you have worked so hard for slowly start to crumble through no fault of your own.
"Please make the extra effort to come support us.”
Katie told of her shock at the closure on Saturday morning and said she “felt defeated”, as she did not expect work to start this early.
Now, Katie said the closures threaten the future of her business with a lack of commuters coming through the station combined with engineering works on nearby roads making it more difficult for regular customers.
"The morning trade has dropped significantly due to the diversions”, she told the Yorkshire Post.
"We used to get a lot of keen side trade with customers driving to York however our regulars have informed us while these restrictions are in place they can’t come for there morning coffee or breakfast.
“We have had support from locals however a lot of our customers are elderly or have a disability, therefore are unable to come due to it taking longer or being unsafe for them to cross the road.
“Today the station is fully closed therefore we have no one at all.”
Katie said she hoped the community could support her business.
She has been forced to amend opening hours to save costs on electricity due to a fall in customer numbers.
"We are constantly being forgotten about when it come to vital information which directly affects us and our trade”, she added.
"We have had to amend our opening times as for the first five weeks we kept them normal in hope it would improve however it didn’t so to save on electricity we have had to cut our hours down.”
In earlier communications to the public, Lucy Grogan, Sponsor for TRU, said: “Station Road bridge, which was originally built between 1830 and 1834, was widened in 1936 and again in 1953. This latest major upgrade in its life is crucial in enabling TRU to transform rail journeys by better connecting towns and cities across the North.
“We appreciate that this road closure will unfortunately cause inconvenience to the community, so we have worked closely with Leeds City Council to agree diversionary routes to help keep traffic moving, and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding. ”