Wool shop closes amid pedestrianisation move

● Knit Hoose shuts its doors in town after a decade in business

The owner of a north-east wool shop has blamed Aberdeenshire Council’s plans to ban cars from outside the building as it announced its closure.

Partly in response to proposals that could leave Queen Street in Peterhead a pedestrian-only zone, the owner of The Knit Hoose has “made the difficult decision” to cease trading.

Linda, Miller said the abrupt move is not the way she would have liked to close the shop but said she “had to do it”.

The businesswoman added: “I just want to say thank-you to all our lovely customers who have supported us since we opened in 2010.”

The shop was open until 3pm last Friday before it closed its doors for the final time.

The local authority has been granted £310,000 from the Scottish Government’s Spaces for People scheme, which will allow it to carry out the temporary works in Peterhead in an attempt to keep people safe from Covid-19.

Cars could be banned from Queen Street as well as various other parts of the town centre under the scheme.

Mrs Miller said that being disabled herself would make having to do deliveries “more difficult”, and said she would also face problems if she was not allowed to park right outside the premises.

She said: “Some of the customers also have disabilities and this could make it harder for them coming into town.

“With social distancing measures too, it’s not easy for people with disabilities to stand for longer periods of time.”

An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said that proposals to change town centres had been revised after receiving feedback from traders.

He said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has caused significant pressures for businesses and it is always sad to learn of a business which feels it will not be able to reopen.

“In terms of town centre movement, we have listened to feedback from businesses and will be releasing revised plans next week.

“These plans are designed to give customers confidence in the safety of our towns and implement national guidance on social distancing.”

Photograph by Darrell Benns SHUTTING UP SHOP: The Knit Hoose in Peterhead has closed after 10 years, with its owner angry over plans to pedestrianise Queen Street.