Firms fear new parking rules will drive away trade

Traders are concerned plans to expand a residents' parking scheme in Leicester will have a negative impact on their businesses.

Leicester City Council is looking at expanding its residents on-street parking permit scheme to two new areas, one near Evington Road and the other between Bidulph Street and St Peter's Road.

Business owners in the Evington Road area say the scheme will leave limited parking spaces for customers and make deliveries more difficult.

However, Leicester City Council has said it listened to traders' concerns and altered the scheme to provide more parking and loading areas as a result.

Council documents say residents themselves asked for the on-street parking permit scheme to be extended to the area outside their homes due to the amount of commuters and shoppers who take up on-street parking spaces in the area.

The council is also looking to introduce further restrictions to tackle congestion in Evington Road at the same time, including tighter rules on waiting and parking.

Leicester Traders Association has raised a number of objections to both the parking permit scheme and changes in Evington Road "on behalf of residents and businesses".

It says residents' concerns include that they will not be guaranteed a parking space in their own street, even though they would have to pay for the privilege.

The association adds businesses fear the changes will not leave enough parking spaces for customers and deliveries to businesses and customers will be more difficult.

Mohsin Sheth, who is chairman of the Leicester Traders Association and owns a burger restaurant in Evington Road, said: "The parking scheme they want to introduce is going to exacerbate the problems in Evington Road.

"No one will be able to park in a side road, so Evington Road is going to see more illegal parking, not less."

Current yellow line parking restrictions in Evington Road allow blue badge holders to park on the lines for up to three hours and delivery vehicles to stop to load and unload at any time.

Private motorists also avoid punishment if they park in the current "no waiting" zones for less then 10 minutes, because enforcement officers have to wait for an 'observation period' before issuing a fine.

Leicester City Council has said the new restrictions include a plan to increase limited time waiting bays in the area from 35 to 93, where motorists will be able to park for up to an hour.

Evington Road will also have seven loading bays for businesses, three bays where takeaway delivery drivers can park for 10 minutes and new yellow lines which prevent parking by general motorists, but allow delivery drivers to stop over a 20-hour period each day.

A city council spokesperson said: "The proposed scheme aims to support residents to be able to find a parking space more easily.

"Public consultation showed over 70% of respondents supported the proposal.

"We have listened to traders' concerns and plan to provide dedicated parking for visitors to nearby shops and takeaways along with loading bays for deliveries."

A traffic regulation order action has been advertised and the council has promised all objections raised during consultation will be considered before any plans are finalised.

On-street parking permits would cost £35 a year for residents, £100 for a specific business vehicle or £150 for a permit that could be used by any business-owned vehicle.

Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.