Victory in sight for Lewes traders in fight against loss of parking bays

East Sussex County Council is looking at schemes to widen pavements across the county as part of a government directive to reallocate road space for cyclists and pedestrians.

This is to support social distancing in areas where people congregate such as town centres and high streets.

But plans to temporarily suspend the on-street parking bays in parts of Lewes High Street so barriers could be installed to widen footways prompted widespread opposition from the town’s traders.

They felt the move would be ‘disastrous’ and remove the only parking option for the elderly and less able shoppers.

It appears their vocal opposition could have paid off.

Claire Dowling, the county council’s lead member for transport and environment, is set to decide which active travel schemes to progress on Monday (August 17).

In the view of officers, the Lewes scheme should not proceed, given the strength of opposition to what was being proposed.

While the report highlighted some support from residents, the traders’ comments meant the concerns outweighed any benefits.

Officers said: “There has been a relaxation of social distancing guidance from 2m to 1m+, lower risk outside and the new rules about wearing face masks/coverings.

“As a result, the widening of the footways originally proposed to enable social distancing are now not so necessary.

“We have received various comments objecting to the scheme from traders. We have received many comments from local residents, Cycle Lewes and Lewes Living Streets supporting the scheme.

“However, in this instance, the traders’ comments outweigh the acknowledged benefits.”

Some residents felt the measures would make shopping a better experience and lead to a reduction in the number of cars in the high street and improve air quality.

But traders pointed to the already fragile state of the retail sector as the economy recovers from Covid-19.

One said: “Anything that deters customers at this time will be a disaster for the high street the measures will wipe out the high street completely.”

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