News / Transport
Businesses leave Clifton due to parking
Almost one-third of businesses in Clifton Village are likely to leave the area due to the implementation of residents’ parking schemes (RPS).
A survey sent to 300 companies, out of which 200 replied, has found that 12 have already decided to leave and a further 43 are likely to leave, despite the scheme not coming into effect until Monday, March 16.
85 per cent of businesses are against the scheme and 82 per cent think it will negatively or very negatively affect their business and their staff.
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Hairdresser Gary Henri has had three staff leave their Royal York Crescent salon specifically because of the RPS, while Taxi Studio on Princess Victoria Street is one of the businesses leaving the area.
Taxi Studio manager Verity Wills said: “Due to us being a specialised design business our talent travels from far and wide. We cannot continue to provide our services in Clifton due to the lack of public transport/parking options for our employees. We have already found alternative premises and are leaving Clifton in May this year.
“This has greatly disappointed the directors as we had built a home here in Clifton but there is no alternative for us. We are extremely disappointed.”
Taxi made a splash on their arrival in Clifton in 2012 after they projected a troll onto the underside of the Suspension Bridge:
A long-term Clifton trader who didn’t want to be named said: “We have survived the war and many recessions. Within two months of this nightmare our business is now under threat as a direct result of the parking initiative.
“With the country in a mess, tax receipts falling, surely now this is the worst time to implement this when it will result in more unemployment and less business rates being paid to the city council which will have a direct result on their funding. I suppose they have the buffer of all the parking permit income to further secure the pensions of the city’s public employees.
“This is serious and not a tick in the box for Mr Ferguson. One day, perhaps, Mr Ferguson might feel some of the pain we are feeling now.”
The strength of feeling about RPS in Clifton Village was shown when traders hired a tank last year to drive through the streets in protest to the scheme.
But the council insists that the scheme “will deliver significant benefits” by making it easier for residents, visitors, businesses and their customers to park nearby and reduce the amount of traffic circulating around searching for a space.
Spokeswoman Alyson Ayland said: “Experience from Bristol’s existing RPS schemes is that streets become quieter and safer due to the reduction in traffic, it is easier and safer for pedestrians to walk around the area and access to properties is improved, which benefits people with limited mobility and ensures that access for deliveries and emergency vehicles is as easy as possible.”