‘Our trade is being killed off by something
A NEW cycle lane installed as part of the £1.2m scheme has “killed” Castleton by crippling trade, local shopkeepers have claimed.
They say their trade has been killed off as people are now unable to park outside of the shops.
Stephen Thomas, 60, owns Smith’s Bakery And Confectioners Ltd in the village, but has been forced to close one of his branches because of the lack of footfall.
He said: “I had two shops within the small village but I’ve had to close one of them down.
“You could park outside - so tradesmen could jump out of their van and people with mobility issues could park outside and come into the shop.
“Unfortunately all of that facility has been taken away from us.
“I had to let my staff go and I had to close the shop, because it just wasn’t paying anymore.
“People can’t park where it’s convenient or where they have access.”
Stephen’s bakery has been in his family since 1928 and they had five branches in the area at one point.
He says he was ‘devastated’ when he realised he had to shut down one of the shops due to the lack of trade.
Stephen said: “My family has been trading in this village since 1928, I’m the third generation to own this business.
“We were hoping to get the business to 100 years so I was gutted, just absolutely gutted. There’s just no other words for it - it’s just so disappointing and devastating.”
Stephen says that cyclists ‘very rarely’ use the new lane because it’s ‘not a main cycle route’ in the village. He added: “I think I’ve seen three cyclists in the lane and that’s it.
“It’s not a main cycle route and I honestly don’t know why they did this as they could have done other things in the village.”
Mark Foster, 46, has owned the New Bridge chip shop for more than 20 years but says work on the cycle lane has battered his business and led to a 50% drop in trade.
He said: “As soon as they started digging up the road, there was four-way temporary traffic lights and massive traffic jams, so people were just avoiding the area.
“Even during the construction, there’s not been anywhere to park so our trade has dropped by around 50%.
“The council said that businesses wouldn’t be affected, but obviously they have.”
He also says highlighted problems with there not being any parking outside his shop, adding: “Some businesses have closed down because of this, so there is always going to be that.
“There used to be four parking spaces outside my shop and the pub next door - you could wait for 20 minutes and they were for the businesses.
“There was also further parking down Manchester Road and they’ve taken away resident’s parking.
“Mothers with children would leave their kids in the car, come in and get a bag of chips and that would be it.
“Now they are having to park far away, drag their kids up to the chippy and put them back in the car - so they might as well go to another shop.”
Local resident Julie Jones, 55, thinks the cycle lane is ‘not a good idea’ because she ‘never sees cyclists’ using it.
She said: “I just live near the main road where it all happened.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea because you don’t see cyclists using it at all.
“I think I’ve only seen around three cyclists using it during this time, most people use the canal.
“I saw two people cycling up the road earlier but one person was using the pavement and another was using the main road.”
But Phillip Leicester, 70, used the cycle lane for the first time on Thursday and said it was a positive step.
He said: “I’ve only been on the cycle lane once but I’ve watched it being built for the last 18 months.
“It will be a good idea when everything is joined up with the cycle lane.
“It’s causing a lot of disruption with the local businesses, but I suppose it’s one of them things were you have to wait until everything is done.
“You do feel a lot safer but sometimes people don’t understand what a cycle lane is - you still get people who walk in the middle of it.
“Until cycles are moving on it a lot more frequently, you’ll always have that problem.
“But of course it’s a lot safer than roads.”
A Rochdale Borough Council spokesman said: “We’ve sorry to hear reports that businesses are concerned about the impact of Transport for Greater Manchester’s active travel scheme in Castleton.
“It has brought new pedestrian crossings, fully resurfaced roads and pavements and new parking facilities, in addition to the cycle lane.
“Construction work on this project only finished very recently, so footfall may not have had chance to fully recover yet.
“But we’ve put in place a number of measures which will support businesses going forward.”
The spokesperson also said they had created a new car park, which is only a couple of minutes’ walk from the local businesses.
They said: “As part of the project, a new 80 space car park has been
created, where people can park for free for an unlimited amount of time.
“This is situated just a couple of minutes’ walk from the businesses in the village centre.
“This has replaced on street parking bays which only allowed motorists to stay for 20 minutes.
“In addition, the council has constructed a new 32 space car park next to Castleton Train Station, which is also close to the businesses.
“We’re aware that multiple factors relating to global prices and the economy, which are not related to the council, are impacting businesses.
“That’s why we’re working on a number of big regeneration opportunities for Castleton to help increase footfall and bring more investment in.”