A Crouch Hill shop owner is concerned about the effect on his business after the street closed for the second time in months – this time due to a burst water main.

Suru Patel, who has run Novelty News for 27 years, believes road closures earlier this year due to roadworks hit his business by 40 per cent.

His trade suffered another blow when the road, which runs from Crouch End to Finsbury Park, closed on Friday. It reopened today.

The W7 bus, which starts in Muswell Hill before terminating at Finsbury Park, was also re-routed for the second time this year as it was unable to use Crouch Hill.

Suru said: “I haven’t seen anybody working on it. But the bus has been stopped and customers have been moaning saying they have to walk down to Stroud Green Road.”

The bus had a similar diversion when rail bosses raised the Overground bridge earlier this year.

John Butler, who runs Lightfoot in Crouch Hill Road, said he’s also concerned for older residents nearby who use the bus.

“We’ve not seen any impact because a lot of people will drive to us, and go around the closure,” he said. “However we have quite a lot of elderly people living locally, and it is more difficult for them because they have to walk further and get the bus.”

Suru is now unhappy with the length of the closure time the road has been closed, and the time taken to fix it.

“The last spell it was closed for four months and I was losing business and now it’s the same,” he said. “There’s hardly anybody coming in. When Japan had a tsunami they fixed everything in six months. This burst water main hasn’t been fixed in five days.”

A spokesperson for Thames Water said: “We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused by a burst on a four-inch pipe.

“This was fixed on Friday and a diversion has been in place while we repair the road.

“This work is now complete and, in agreement with Haringey Council, we will re-open it this lunchtime.”