Parking limit row (From Stroud News and Journal)

Parking limit row

THE BOSSES of two Minchinhampton businesses have accused the parish council of wanting to close the town down by starving it of trade.

Mark and Sophie Craddock, of Sophie's Restaurant and Le Midi, have condemned what they call a "nightmare" proposal to restrict parking in the Market Square and High Street to 30 minutes in any hour.

In a letter to the parish council they said: "While it is possibly true that 30 minutes may allow someone to quickly buy their bread, groceries and a paper it will starve most of the other business of their trade.

"We can all share the collective dismay that our councillors seem to want to close Minchinhampton down."

The couple suggest the parish council ask Gloucestershire County Council for a limit of between two and three hours otherwise, they say, commercial "decay" in the town will worsen and they will be forced to "reconsider" their location.

County council traffic boss John Lindsay said he would have no objections to the 30-minute in any hour waiting restriction providing it had traders and neighbours support.

But while acknowledging limited parking had been the parish council's idea, chairman Cllr Eilish Cope insisted the 30 minutes had not and that full consultation was ongoing to find out what traders did want.

She said: "We've categorically written back to the county council saying we didn't agree to the 30 minutes and started our own consultative process.

"We will run with what the majority of traders feel. That is the democratic way of doing things."