Shopping nightmare before Christmas
Store owners say road works are affecting trade
A group of Stirling traders say changes made to parts of the city centre are resulting in a bleak Christmas for their businesses.
Works to transform parts of the town and implement a new one-way system on Murray Place and Station Road – part of the Stirling Gateway project – has led to reduced footfall in the town centre, say shop and restaurant bosses on Barnton Street.
Six months after voicing fears over the potential impact of the changes, traders say they are experiencing a downturn in business of up to 50 per cent during the busiest time of year in what was traditionally one of the busiest areas of the town.
Work costing around £750,000 has been ongoing in the area for months to widen the pavements and make them more pedestrian-friendly, alter bus and taxi stances, remove roadside barriers and implement a one-way system in Murray Place and Station Road.
However, local traders say the new layout is more difficult and less appealing for motorists to navigate and, combined with alterations to bus stop positions, is turning people away from the area.
Businesses also fear they are losing out on trade from the bus and train stations.
Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford and Castle councillor Jim Thomson met with business bosses on Monday.
They listened to their concerns and called for a review of the new system and a look at fresh ideas on how the business owners can be best supported.
There are suggestions slight alterations to the position of taxi ranks and bus stops could help bring more people back to Barnton Street.
Shop bosses present at the meeting were Paul Tortolano from Smiling Jack’s, Ali Masri of Phone Doctorz, Jackie DeLuca from La Ciociara and Araf Hamid from Urban Bubble.
Mr Masri said: “We have all noticed a real difference since the changes have come in. The place is just a ghost town – if you look around there is nobody here.
“I hope something can be done to bring people back into this part of the town. Shops have been shutting down here because they are struggling to cope and that’s just going to continue.
“We should all be busy in the run up to Christmas but it hasn’t worked out like that. Before we know it it’s going to be January, February and March which are quieter months anyway.”
Mr Tortolano, co-owner at Smiling Jack’s, said: “This is our lunch trade in the lead up to Christmas and we’re not getting as many people through the door as we’d like.
“I think it’s so difficult to access this street [Barnton Street] now by car that people are just not bothering. They are probably going elsewhere which is frustrating for us.
“There are ‘to let’ signs popping up all along the street and there are only going to be more and more unless something changes.”
Mr Hamid from Urban Bubble on Murray Place arrived at the meeting with a petition signed by around 60 local business owners.
He said: “This petition was signed at the outset but almost everyone wanted things to just stay as they were. I’ve been seeing a decrease of around 40 per cent and I’ve heard that’s the case elsewhere.
“All that’s going to happen is that people are going to be driven out of the town. The change in position of the bus stops has been a big factor. I’m in the shop until 10pm and the nighttime trade is very quiet.”
Barnton Street newsagent Tariq Ahmed wasn’t present at the meeting but he told the Observer he has seen a decline in business of up to 50 per cent.
He said: “I’ve been here for more than three years and the run up to Christmas is often very busy, but not this year. This has felt like a typical January to me.
“I can’t take the risk of buying in large amounts of stock. I’m pretty much going day-to-day at the minute. I don’t know if I can keep the shop going like this.
“We were told back in June that when the work was completed we would see all the people coming into the area. Where are they all?”
Ghulam Ahmed of NRG Computing added: “They’ve spent so much money on this and we’re left with nobody in the area. There are shops closing all over the place.”
The Black Butterfly and Gavin’s Pet Centre, both on Barnton Street, are closing their doors to customers.
All that’s going to happen is that people are going to be driven out of town