Red routes will impact business, say traders

Traders say they are worried about how their businesses will receive deliveries if proposed no stopping 'red routes' are introduced in a busy Hove road.

Brighton & Hove City Council said it would recommend a new red route in Western Road between Montpelier Road and Holland Road, with fines of £70 for drivers stopping.

Emre Durmaz said he was concerned the scheme would negatively affect his recently opened restaurant.

Councillors are to discuss the proposals, which aim to stop anti-social parking and cut congestion, the council said.

Maria Hall, who manages Bankers Fish & Chip restaurant in Western Road, said she feared delivery drivers would be fined for "doing their jobs".

"Where and how they are going to unload is a mystery to me," she told BBC Radio Sussex.

Mr Durmaz added: "I'm not happy because I have deliveries every day, and I think it will impact my business."

Red routes, which are policed through CCTV cameras, were previously introduced in London Road, Lewes Road and Preston Road last year.

Ishaq Karimi, manager of Pamir Grocery in Preston Road, said it had been "horrendous".

"We have lost a lot of businesses since the time it was introduced. If it goes on, in ten years' time it will be a ghost town," he said.

Trevor Muten, the council's cabinet member for transport and parking, said transport operators, cyclists and residents claimed the roads had been safer and journeys had been less congested and more reliable since the red routes were introduced.

A date has yet to be confirmed for when the Western Road red route could be introduced.

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