‘Southbourne needs help’ plea to council

9:59am Monday 18th September 2006

NEW parking restrictions on a busy bus route in Bournemouth could sound the death knell for small businesses in the area, shopkeepers are warning.

They are planning to send a deputation to the Town Hall next Thursday asking the council to reconsider its decision to ban parking on the narrowest part of Seabourne Road, the main route between Pokesdown and Southbourne Grove.

The stretch in contention, between Parkwood Road and Darracott Road, currently has restricted waiting on one side, but bus companies have long been lobbying for double yellow lines to improve safety and traffic flow.

Now the matter is going before the council's sustaining our environment scrutiny and review panel with a recommendation to go ahead with the ban.

But Bobby Stanton, who has owned Avant Garde hair salon for 22 years, predicted: "This end of Southbourne will die. I hope the council will review the decision and we'll get it stopped.

"We've never had an accident up here and the council has, in its infinite wisdom, put half of the main car park up for sale. Southbourne needs help, not hindrance. There is a half hour parking restriction at the moment, but it helps the little shops."

A report to the panel claims bus services are now more frequent and faster to encourage people to switch to sustainable transport, and that more people are using them since free OAP bus passes were introduced in April.

It says buses and other vehicles were being forced to cross footways to avoid traffic queues, potentially placing pedestrians at risk.

And it adds that although many of the shops' customers use cars, most were specialist outlets, so the walk from the car park was less likely to be a deterrent than it would be for convenience shopping. Members of the public can listen to the debate in the Town Hall's Phoebe Room at 6pm.