Hove shopkeeper says parking changes will put his business at risk
A Hove shopkeeper said that new parking restrictions could put his business at risk.
Adam Campbell, who runs Gill’s Home and Garden in Western Road, Hove, said that the restrictions prevented deliveries from being made for six hours a day.
The proposed loading and unloading restrictions would apply from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm on the north side of Western Road between Holland Road and Farm Road.
The restrictions would affect a small number of other businesses, including the Tesco store on the corner at the Palmeira Square end of Western Road.
Mr Campbell, who stood for the Conservatives in the Brighton and Hove City Council elections in May, said that his shop was one of the greenest in the area.
He wrote to councillors: “Hardware is intrinsically green as it has always encouraged people to mend rather than throw away. This is very much at the heart of our business ethos.”
He accused the council’s cabinet member for transport and the public realm, Councillor Ian Davey, of “proposing to introduce draconian restrictions, allegedly at the behest of Brighton and Hove Buses”.
Mr Campbell, who also runs the Western Road Traders Association, said: “Apparently this is only during ‘rush hour’ but regrettably there is a huge hole in Councillor Davey’s logic.
“Rush hour in the morning is on the north side of Western Road into Brighton and I have no problem with the suggestion of restrictions between 7am and 10 am to facilitate that.
“However, would you not think that the reverse would be the case at the end of the day on the south side of Western Road with commuters returning home?”
Roger French, the managing director of Brighton and Hove Buses, said: “We just want the chaotic parking along that section of Western Road sorted.
“There is effectively a free for all and anyone parks anywhere to unload and use blue badges.
“We are not concerned about the detail of north or south sides of the road.
“It just needs proper management and enforcement of effective restrictions.
“At the moment this is completely lacking.”
Mr Campbell said: “I have requested a copy of the traffic survey that details our section of Western Road as of particular concern and the written request from Brighton and Hove Buses but to date these have not been produced.”
He said that he tried to limit the number of journeys to wholesalers, most of which were in London. He said that these often involved very early starts and a late afternoon return to Hove.
He said: “It is a long day and all we want to do is unload our stock and load up with any deliveries we have to do after we close the shop.
“We certainly don’t abuse the ability to load/unload and have no desire to cause an obstruction.
“Many of our customers are elderly and vulnerable and rely on us to deliver bulky items such as cat litter and fuel.”
He said that if he was unable to make timely deliveries then customers would use suppliers who could deliver when required.
He added: “If we are forbidden to unload/load at this time, the options would be that we
wait until 7pm each evening to unload stock/load our daily deliveries to our customers.
“This would have the effect of increasing our staff costs as well as impacting adversely on our family lives.
“Leave £10,000 worth of stock in the vehicle overnight with the risk of theft. My insurance would not permit this anyway.
“Park on the south side of Western Road and form a human chain across the carriageway (having my staff carry bulky items through traffic would not be safe without stopping the traffic) with the unfortunate result of causing gridlock in central Brighton.
“We all want open and accountable government and any proposals that could adversely affect businesses in Brighton and Hove should have thorough consultation.
“The consultation on this issue has been negligible and consisted of two pieces of paper hung on a lamppost which subsequently fell off. No phone call, letter or email to the businesses affected.”
His letter to councillors ended: “I hope that the irony of a Green administration proposing to damage one of the greenest businesses in Hove is not lost on you.
“It certainly is not lost on my customers (your voters) who are understandably outraged and feel that the administration should be doing all it can to help preserve our local independent retailers.
“This proposal is flawed and a more cynical person could possibly feel that there is a more political undercurrent at play.
“I sincerely hope this is not the case.
“I appreciate that indiscriminate parking can be a problem but restricting mine and other businesses ability to trade effectively is not going to solve that.”
A decision is expected to be made by Councillor Davey on Tuesday 24 January.
