Hairdresser fights plans to block parking outside shop
A HAIRDRESSER says she fears for the future of her business after plans to place parking restrictions outside it were approved.
Leanne Thornton, 34, owns Leanne’s Clipper Cabin on the junction of Pilsworth Road and Regent Street in Heywood.
Members of Heywood Township Committee meeting passed proposals for no waiting orders covering this junction.
It follows a report from council officers that said ‘indiscriminate parking’ largely generated by the hairdressers and nearby Woodland Primary School was proving a road safety hazard by limiting visibility.
But Leanne says that her customers cause no problems and that she and residents in the area are strongly against the plans.
She said: “It will affect my business hugely, no one will be able to park anywhere near it.
“Seven of us turned up to the meeting as neighbours (also affected by the restrictions) are complaining.
“I am worried, a lot of my customers are kids whose parents need somewhere to park and others are disabled.
“The pavement outside my shop is very large so could be taken in to put car parking spaces there instead of restrictions.”
Leanne collected 17 pages of signatures on a petition against the proposals, which she has handed in to the council.
She has owned the business since January 2012.
The cost of the scheme is said to be £4,000, and the money will come from Heywood Township Funds.
In the report into the proposals, a Rochdale Council spokesman said: “Site inspections have found vehicles parked in the vicinity of the junction and the patrol crossing point.
“This affects visibility at the junction and at the crossing, for both motorists and pedestrians.
“The junction provides the main vehicular access point to and from the school and parked vehicles interfere with the free movement of traffic during busy periods.
“There are also a high number of child pedestrian movements at the junction due to its proximity to the school and the crossing patrol facility.
“Acting in our capacity as highway authority, we have a duty of care to ensure the safety of the travelling public.”