DAYTIME DELIVERY MAY BE BANNED
BUSINESSES UP IN ARMS AT PROPOSED 8.30am-7pm RULE
PLANS to stop deliveries to a town square will have a devastating impact on businesses, local firms say.
Under plans drawn up by Gwynedd council, no-one will be allowed to unload goods between 8.30am and 7pm on Caernarfon’s Maes.
Traders say the plans would harm business, jobs and tourism, but the council says current parking restrictions mean no vehicle should be stopping to load or unload goods anyway, although it would seem at the moment this does happen.
Tudor Hughes, owner of Caffi Maes, said: “I open before 8am so I will most likely be okay.
“My worry is about how businesses who don’t open until 9am and later are going to get deliveries before 8.30am.
“Currently you get deliveries throughout the morning, but these plans would stop that.
“I can’t see why the council want to change things as there is nothing wrong with the way things work now. I do feel they’re trying to create a problem out of nothing.”
Gwyndaf Jones, owner of Y Castell hotel and restaurant and Copa Diner and Bar on the Maes, said: “A few businesses have objected, including local delivery firms.
“How will banks get their money and chemists get their deliveries?
“If we get early deliveries of beer barrels, guests will get awoken early.
“If it was a wholly pedestrian area you’d see some rationale. It’s not, and why the Maes in isolation? What about deliveries to all streets? What about the market? What about taxis?
“This is a plan that will harm business and affect jobs.”
The council say blue badge holders would be able to park in designated bays for a period of up to three hours rather than the current 90 minutes.
A consultation giving businesses and other users of the Maes a chance to air their views on the proposals will be open until September 12, and the council will then make a decision.
A Gwynedd council spokesperson said: “The current parking restrictions on the Maes area means that no vehicle is currently permitted to park for a short period to load or unload goods.
“This arrangement has been in place since the current clearway signage was installed in April 2013.
“However, due to recent changes in traffic regulations which allows greater flexibility for authorities, the council has reviewed current restrictions on the Maes.
“As a result, and having contacted businesses on the Maes to explain that the council was considering changes to parking restrictions, the council is currently consulting on new parking arrangements which would allow the loading and unloading of goods from vehicles up until 8.30am and after 7pm.”