Charity shop closure fears over car ban

Bosses fear a Peterhead charity shop could go bust under plans that would ban drivers from dropping off donations.

Volunteers at the British Heart Foundation store on Marischal Street rely heavily on kind-hearted supporters driving up to the front door with sackfuls of goods to keep the shelves stocked.

Manager Carol Banning says proposals to permanently pedestrianise the stretch between Errol Street and Chapel Street could be disastrous for her shop.

Taking a break from sorting through bundles in the back room, she told us: “We have already had people telling us they won’t be able to drop off donations if they can’t come to the door.

“If people can’t drop items off it’s going to die, and that’ll be another shop empty.

“We have to make up all of our outgoings before we can think about making money for the charity and helping people.

“It’s always sacks of stuff that people leave, we rely a large amount on that.”

Carol added: “We also have recycling crews that visit once a week from Glasgow to take away items that can’t be sold, they’d have to carry these big bagfuls quite a long way if they can’t park outside.

“There should at least be certain windows of time when vehicles can use the street.”

Kyle Veraas, the assistant manager of the nearby VPZ vape shop, shared similar concerns.

He said: “Having the loading bays around the back of the shop would be a problem for us, we can’t leave the store unattended to go and get the deliveries.

“I’m not opposed to pedestrianisation, but these details need to be worked out.”

The stretch has already been closed to traffic for several months while work is under way on the ongoing revamp of Drummers Corner. An Aberdeenshire Council spokeswoman pledged that all feedback would be taken into account, and stressed that the measures were devised to keep people safe.

She said: “The proposed changes are borne out of safety concerns as there have been regular complaints about the existing traffic restrictions on Marischal Street being overlooked by motorists resulting in conflict between pedestrians and vehicles. Once our consultation closes on June 18, we will carefully consider all comments and feedback.”

Residents can submit comments on the proposals by email on buchan@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk for the rest of this week.

CONCERNS: The British Heart Foundation shop in Peterhead faces being driven out.