‘Good idea, but wrong time to improve road’

WORKS NECESSARY, BUT TRADERS ARE STILL GETTING OVER COVID

A MAJOR road improvement scheme is a good idea but is badly timed, business owners say.

The latest phase of the Narborough Road improvement scheme is set to begin this weekend between Saxon Street and Hinckley Road, with eight weeks of repairs and renovation scheduled.

Leicester City Council said the work is part of a series of rolling repairs to “spruce up public areas for businesses and residents”.

Cracked pavements will be repaired and bollards and cycle racks installed.

Dipak Maru believes customers of his business, Aquarian Hairdressing, will be affected by the limited parking while the work is carried out.

He said: “For two years we’ve had coronavirus and now they’re going to do the work, and it will have an impact.

“It will make a big difference as there will be no parking. A lot of my customers come here in the car and access to the shop will be impacted.

“It is worth it in a way, it does need improving. There are a lot of potholes in the pavement and the roads do need improving so, in the long term yes, but at the minute we just don’t need this.”

Asked what he wanted to see improved in the area, Dipak said: “Parking is a nightmare here. We do have parking permits, there are onehour bays, but people don’t listen.

“There are not enough traffic wardens. We do tell people ‘you’re not allowed to park here, you have to park on the other side.’ We have to tell them and they don’t realise because the layout of the signs is not that good. It’s very confusing.

“Also, I think the city council should place restrictions on having too many of the same businesses close to each other.

“For instance, there are a lot of barbers on this road. They’re popping up next to each other. Why do you need more barbers? Everyone wants to make money, so why have everyone next door to each other?”

IntaSound, a music shop, and Jaks Stationers were two of the businesses which experienced disruption during a previous phase of the work, between Briton Street and Saxon Street.

Alex Wright, owner of the familyrun IntaSound, agreed that the timing had been the main problem.

He said: “Annoyingly, the work all started just as we opened back up (after lockdown). There were days when they had to completely block off the entrance and it was a bit of a mess.

“But it looks nice now and it seems to have worked. The pavement looks nicer. It was probably more of a hindrance for a long time. The main thing was that we were closed for nearly a year and when we reopened they chose to do it then.”

He said that while the street scene has improved, it has not translated into more business.

Alex said he wants to see more CCTV on the road and more places for the homeless to go.

Shabir Jakhura, owner of Jak’s Stationers, said that stretch of Narborough Road is a lot better since the work was completed, though he also expressed concerns about parking.

He said: “There was a bit of a disruption because there were issues with parking. The council people had to store their materials and stuff like that so we lost a lot of parking, but they did try to accommodate us in terms of entry into the business.

“It’s made it look a lot nicer than it was, the pavement was a bit dated and uneven, so it is better.”

The council said there would be waiting restrictions where work is taking place, and some parking bays in Celt Street would be used for equipment vehicles.

Deputy city mayor and Westcotes ward councillor, Sarah Russell, said: “These repairs and improvements have made a big difference to the appearance of Narborough Road, and will benefit everyone using it.

“Businesses in this area, many of which are small, independent firms, have suffered from the ongoing disruption of Covid-19, so we’ve been careful to phase the work in such a way that it doesn’t cause more problems and also helps support them by making the area more attractive.”