A RESTAURANT boss was seething after being left for seven months without a proper water supply at his new city-centre premises.

David Fox, co-director of Tampopo in Manchester's plush Triangle shopping centre, says United Utilities promised a connection within eight weeks last September and was even paid up-front for doing the work.

But until this week, it had not managed it.

Mr Fox says he was stunned because the company had to carry out three major digging operations over six months because it could not find the water mains in Exchange Square.

He claims that if it had been left to United Utilities his company could not have had its grand opening in December, causing severe financial losses and inconvenience.

"The water company just did not seem to know where the mains were, which staggered me," said Mr Fox, whose firm specialises in eastern Asian cuisine.

"The laughable thing is that Exchange Square must be one of the most recently-redeveloped parts of Manchester.

"It's not Time Team, and you'd think it would have the area well mapped out so it would know exactly where everything was."

Mr Fox, whose company has restaurants in Albert Square, the Trafford Centre, Leeds and London, said it would not have been able to open the new outlet in the Triangle as planned but for its landlords being able to tap into the water supply in an empty adjacent shop.

Water supply

"We had a water supply of sorts," he said. "But it was based on the previous business that occupied the unit, and was just not adequate for a restaurant.

"We couldn't have opened on time without the extra supplies from the unit next door. But when we got really busy and people were using the loos frequently, the flow was very weak.

"When we first planned the new restaurant, it was obvious we would need bigger pipes. United Utilities said the best way would be to create a new connection from the mains.

"The first guys who turned up didn't even have any plans to show where the pipes were, and in November they spent four days digging, then had to put all the soil back and re-pave without finding what they were looking for.

"They had a second go in February, with no more luck. When they came back again a few days ago, we just had our fingers crossed it would be third time lucky.

"The problems have definitely hit the business, because whenever they have been digging, the place looked like a building site, and there was a lot of noise and inconvenience."

United Utilities spokesman Helen Wilson said: "We are sorry this connection has taken much longer than expected.

"It has been very difficult due to the redevelopment of the area round Exchange Square. The road layout and ground level have changed significantly since the mains were laid, making them very difficult to locate.

"Work to extend the water main is now complete and the restaurant has its water supply. We are very sorry and will refund the connection charge."


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