BUSINESS owners in a town centre say suspending parking will kill off a town’s recovery from lockdown.

The changes to Grange Road, Northumberland Street and Duke Street in Darlington are part of plans to reopen the town centre safely for shoppers.

But small business owners say it could be the final straw for trade and have questioned the necessity of the measures.

Yesterday, a dozen business owners attended Darlington Borough Council to deliver a letter outlining their concerns about the decision to suspend parking, allowing the pavement to be widened, and installing barriers to create space for social distancing and queuing.

It was written by Peter Robinson, who owns Thomas Watson Auction House, and was signed by 20 other business owners.

Bill Gillow, who owns Geoffrey Gillow, a clothes shop in Grange Road, said: “It looks horrendous, it looks like the road is shut. It sends the wrong message out. We want people to know we are open for business.

The Northern Echo:

“The council have said it's for social distancing but the pavement is over three metres wide and there is ample space for people.

"Their other argument is that people will be queuing for the shops and there is no space but we don’t get queues. We never have more than two or three people in the shop at any one time.

“It’s not Oxford Street, it doesn’t have a high flow of pedestrians.

“I don’t think they understand what a devastating effect this will have.”

He added: “We have been here for 54 years and we have been through a lot of crises and recessions.

"We have never been in a more precarious position.”

Darren Syddall, who owns Origins in Grange Road, added: “We are frustrated because we are trying to adapt and pay our way.

“I don’t know why they’re doing it on these two streets and not throughout the town centre.

“It was tough before this came along. We’re trying to be responsible retailers but this is like a sledgehammer blow.”

Vicki Robertson, who owns Holly’s Doggy Deli in Northumberland Street, said: “We have a lot of customers who come partly because it’s handy and you can park outside. Some of our things are quite heavy. Someone isn’t going to carry a 15kg bag of dog food to a car park.”

She added: "I think the council should have given us a chance to see how it works and made adjustments down the line if needed.

"Hopefully they may reconsider.

"It's going to be a really sad affair if there's no town left."

The Northern Echo:

Darren Syddall delivering the letter to Darlington Borough Council

Councillor Heather Scott, Leader of Darlington Borough Council, said: “While I understand the frustrations of local business owners at what they see as disruptive measures, I would stress that these have been introduced with everyone’s safety in mind and to enable businesses to safely re-open.

“We have temporarily suspended some parking bays to create a safe space for people to queue, to help with social distancing – but we are continuing to make parking in council-run car parks free of charge to encourage people to buy local and support their town centre businesses.

“We’ve said all along that these measures are to try and support businesses, and that we will keep them under review. If we find they aren’t working, then we will look again, keeping within current Government guidelines."

“I will respond directly to the business owners, to clarify why we have suspended the parking bays. I do recognise that these are very difficult and worrying times for everyone. We are also lobbying for the relaxation of licensing laws, which would enable more pavement cafes, to encourage people to come into town, while complying with social distancing.

“We needed to make these changes to make our town centre Covid-secure. We cannot compromise when it comes to keeping everyone safe.”