A Holbeach business using the pavement to display items for sale described by some as “junk” can continue doing so, says Lincolnshire County Council.
Town district councillor Francis Biggadike is among residents disgusted with the look of The Chequers Hotel frontage in High Street.
He said he went to speak to the person responsible for the goods following complaints from the public to see – if the pavement had to be used – whether better items could be displayed.
He told The Voice: “Everybody’s working hard to make the town look nice and we’ve just won gold in East Midlands In Bloom and yet we have this to contend with.
“It’s like people are laughing at us.”
One Facebook user, who posted the photograph above, said: “We have to accept the market stalls are a health and safety issue but we allow the street to have junk on it!”
Among the many replies – many supporting the objection – was: “It might not look very nice to some people, but actually it’s no more of an obstruction to the footpath than the things many other shops in the high street put outside.”
County council area highways manager Debra Greeves said the local authority was sympathetic to small businesses’ efforts in tough economic times.
She said: “We met the owner of The Chequers on site and agreed that providing nothing dangerous was put out and there was sufficient room for pedestrians including disabled access and double buggies, we would not take action.
“This is consistent with the approach we have taken with other premises such as charity shops and greengrocers in Holbeach.
“We recognise that small businesses are struggling at the moment and where possible we want to avoid restrictions that may affect their trade.”
