Residents are being given the chance to have their say over controversial trial changes at a Holbeach car park – and hear the arguments for making them from a South Holland District Council officer.
Holbeach Parish Council has called a public meeting to consider the effects of relocating the market from High Street to the car park and of closing its Boston Road South entrance.
The meeting is on Monday at 6pm at the Methodist Hall in Albert Street.
Parish and district councillor Paul Foyster says there have been numerous complaints to parish councillors over these issues.
He is urging people to attend the meeting to demonstrate to South Holland District Council the depth of feeling in the town.
Market traders have been pleased with an upturn in trade since stalls were relocated last January. They say customers are spending more time and money with them because the stalls are in a safer, quieter environment, away from passing traffic.
However, town centre shops have noticed a definite decrease in footfall on market days – Thursdays and Saturdays. Shoe retailer Toto is one shop to have publically said that it is suffering from a downturn in trade.
Coun Foyster said: “The market traders are doing more business, but the shops in that end of town are doing less.
“Who can blame stallholders for wanting to stay in the car park, though I fear that the district council, and thus Holbeach, is being dictated to by one or two individuals and that moving wider stalls to Church Street would have been a better solution.”
Coun Foyster has suggested to the council’s environmental services manager, Emily Spicer – who is due to attend Monday’s meeting – that dividing the car park into two with bollards would be a feasible solution.
He said: “I’m not convinced that restricting access to the car park would have been necessary if the market had not been moved.
“Market days present the greatest risk. It’s true people do use it as a shortcut to avoid the traffic lights. They’ve done so for years and clearly as the town grows that will increase.
“Closing one entrance at a cost of a few pounds for a padlock is obviously an attractive option for the district council. Unfortunately it’s not one for Holbeach.
“My own preference is that if suitable signage won’t suffice, then the area should be divided into two with bollards.”
