The £34m razing of Anglia Square is due to begin next week ahead of the site’s redevelopment into a leisure and shopping area with 1,100 homes.
To allow work to start, a new temporary location for firms in the square is being created.
The so-called ‘box park’ will be made up of 80 repurposed shipping containers under the flyover in Magdalen Street.
However, the project is still going through planning permission, meaning businesses have had to find other alternatives.
Gary Ewing, who runs Sirplus Trading, a shop specialising in antiques and collectables, has relocated to Magdalen Street.
Gary Ewing, who runs Sirplus Trading, has relocated to Magdalen Street (Image: Katy Whitaker) He said he was happy with the new location.
“Business is going good with new and old customers, he added.
However, he remained frustrated at the way he had been forced to move and said there had not been enough affordable options available to him.
He said Norwich City Council’s proposal – that firms would have to leave Anglia Square, move to a temporary home, then the box park and then back to the redeveloped Anglia Square – was unrealistic and that he was planning to remain where he was now.
“Even if the box park was ready in time the rent was stupid for what they wanted to charge, for what you get out of it,” he said.
“The whole thing is unrealistic. They’re going to price everyone out. The rent on the new location is going to be through the roof.
“The council need to communicate a lot more than what they’ve been doing.”
Other firms feel similarly frustrated with their ordeal.
The management of Ernie’s Zero Waste Shop said they felt “messed around” and had been forced to leave the Magdalen Street area because of a lack of options.
The firm has moved to a unit in the Castle Quarter shopping centre but has not yet opened.
In a post on Facebook, company said: “It was a hard decision to move away from NR3 but ultimately the decision was taken out of our hands after we completely ran out of options in the areas.
“We had been hoping to move into a property on Magdalen Street but after being messed around for months with no progress being made we had to start looking elsewhere.”
However, other Anglia Square firms have reported more positive experiences in moving to their new homes.
Michael Local, who used to run Anglia Square’s Cafe on the Corner, now operates the Stop Gap burger van nearby (Image: Katy Whitaker) Michael Local, used to run the Cafe on the Corner in Anglia Square, now runs the Stop Gap burger van on Magdalen Street, not far from the former shopping centre.
He said council officials had been “helpful” in issuing a street trade licence and securing the necessary permissions for him to operate there.
“They are going to need someone to feed all those builders,” he added.
“The council have also been very good at making sure the grants were paid to enable the staff to not to be made redundant, so they were kept on payroll for the four weeks between closing the cafe and opening this site. They’ve been true to their word.”
A city council spokesman said: “We have consistently communicated to all traders since the council took ownership of the site.
“We have employed a dedicated business advisor to traders and provided financial support for them to move out and to those waiting for a place at the proposed box park.
“Any traders who takes up a space at the proposed box park will not be paying anymore rent than they previously has been paying.”