No parking on street could destroy businesses
TRADERS in Low Fell have warned that new parking restrictions could force their businesses to close.
Gateshead Council has removed on-street parking bays on Durham Road in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The authority says the restrictions, which are being rolled out across the borough, are needed to keep shoppers safe and that large sections of footpaths in the area are too narrow to allow for social distancing.
But business owners on the street have come together to condemn the changes, saying it has caused a massive drop in trade.
Julie Oxley, who owns Creation and Alterations, said: “It has killed all passing trade.
“We used to get a lot of customers just pull in on their way to places.
“There are two car parks but it is only local people that know where they are but passing trade doesn’t.
“I’ve lost 40% of my takings. If it goes on like this I’ll have to reduce the hours of my staff.
“We were closed for 12 weeks and then we reopened.
“Business picked up really, really well for four weeks then they did this to us.”
This was echoed by Steph Bee, owner of Steph’s Barber Shop, who raised concerns that the area had become less accessible to people with disabilities.
She said: “It is not fair on anybody with any kind of disability that means they can’t walk far, and it means there is no passing trade.”
Jamal Salahi, owner of Jamm’s Turkish Barbers, said: “It is very difficult, I used to have four staff working on a Saturday now I have two and it is too much.”
Ronnie Pattison, owner of Pattison’s Card Shop, said: “I have had five or six customers saying they just can’t come now.”
Sandeep Rana, owner of Mobile City, said: “Because there is nowhere to park I am losing my customers.”
Saim Raza, owner of Friendy’s, said: “There has been a 30%-40% drop off.”
Peter Roberts, who runs Subway, also reported a big drop in turnover.
However, the authority says that large sections of Low Fell are too narrow to allow people to safely pass each other, meaning it had to make more space.
A spokesman from Gateshead Council said: “The government has made it clear it expects local councils to take steps to enable businesses to reopen while ensuring that social distancing can still take place.
“The problem we have in Low Fell is that large sections of the footpaths are simply too narrow to enable people to queue and to pass one another safely whilst maintaining the government-recommended social distance.
“That means that to meet the government’s strict guidance we have no choice but to widen the footpath by extending into areas currently occupied by on-street parking.”
He also said that there is plenty of alternative parking in the area and that the council is “happy” to work with local businesses.
He added: “We fully understand that this is a far from perfect solution.”