Plans to partially ban parking from a road in Brentwood town centre will be a “death sentence” for traders, the county council has been warned.
Essex County Council wants to introduce ‘no waiting at any time’ restrictions for a length of 35 metres in Kings Road.
This includes 20 metres between 45-51 Kings Road and 15 metres between 31-27 Kings Road.
It will almost half the space people can park but is expected to “noticeably improve accessibility” and reduce congestion.
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The county council say many vehicles, particularly buses, find it difficult to pass because of the number of vehicles parking on the left, heading from Brentwood railway station to the high street.
It adds that large vehicles are often required to wait “excessively” and for the bus services this is particularly problematic.
Brentwood station currently provides the only viable location for terminating services in the town, which means most services are affected by congestion issues in Kings Road.
However, the changes will threaten the viability of shops on the road, the county council has been warned.
One objector, who has run a shop on Kings Road for many years, said: “There is not enough parking at this end of the town as it is. If the parking is lost, I will have to think about relocating out of Brentwood.”
Another said: “Firstly, the parade of shops contains many well established and popular outlets.
"It is obvious that removing or altering the parking bays is, in effect, a death sentence for these outlets.”
Essex County Council said: “Comments have been raised about the number of empty/half empty buses passing along Kings Road, which is a very valid point.
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“The main multi modal interchange opportunity in the town is provided by the rail station, which of course facilitates interchange with the Elizabeth Line and the wider rail network. The other main attractor in the town being the high street area.
“As such, many passengers will alight in Brentwood High Street, with a residual number remaining on the bus to access the station for interchange purposes.”
It added: “The shops’ and business’s needs, along with those of all other users of Kings Road, were given careful consideration and an extreme amount of thought was put into determining a scheme that would holistically bring greater benefits to the widest number of parties.”
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