Leith Walk baker blames tram works for mouse infestation which closed her business

A BAKER has blamed tram works for causing a mouse infestation that shut her Leith Walk business.

Edinburgh City Council environmental health experts served the Breadshare social enterprise - which shared the premises with Bross Bagels - with a closure notice.

Breadshare director Debra Riddell said the building will now undergo a major refit before reopening - after mice came scurrying in to escape roadworks.

“We shut it down as soon as they came in,” said Ms Riddell, 57. “We struggled with the mouse problem there for a little while. It’s just been costing us a fortune, basically.

“They were digging up the road outside which just made it worse. The tram works, really, were the problem. We had a problem to start with but it’s just made it worse.”

Ms Riddell said a refurbishment of the old building will include ripping out old tile and relining the floor to help prevent any future rodent problems.

She assured Breadshare’s Seafield Road bakery and the outlet in Jane Street are unaffected and remain open.

The refit of the Leith Walk premises, opened in 2018, is expected to take around three months, after which environmental health officers will be invited back to reinspect.

“The whole of Leith Walk has a mouse problem,” added Ms Riddell. “We were working on it but then they started digging up the road outside so they came in where it’s nice and warm.

“It’s a Catch-22 for us at the moment. Do we do enough to get the sign taken down or do we just wait until it’s all done properly.

“People tend to panic about these things but it’s just the reality for us, unfortunately. We’re not using the building, the building is out of action for at least the next three months.”

The premises on Leith Walk are currently closed with a hygiene emergency prohibition notice pinned to the door dated last month.

“There is widespread mouse activity with dropping found on work surfaces to prepare food and food containers with serious risk of food contamination,” it reads.

Owner of Bross bagels, Larah Bross, said they were given the all-clear to continue at the premises but opted instead to decamp to Leith Arches and sever all links.

Her firm are currently using the Nice Times Bakery on Morrison Street with plans to build new facilities at the former RBS building in Portobello.

“Obviously we were let down - It was an extremely stressful time,” said Ms Bross, 42. “We’re very disappointed that obviously they had these problems and they weren’t minding their areas.”