Controversial Road Closures To Be Removed
Written by HFM News on 11th September 2020
Controversial road closures in Market Harborough town centre are to be removed.
They have been in place on Adam and Eve Street and Church Street for the past four months.
Some shop owners have been calling for them to be re-opened to traffic, saying the measures, implemented by Harborough Council to encourage social distancing, have impacted trade.
The closures will be lifted on or before next Friday, when additional measures for safe queuing around the Post Office and barbers on Adam and Eve Street are likely to be put in place.
Church Street remains closed to traffic
The Council has said, however, that measures may have to be reintroduced if the local or national situation around Covid-19 dictates.
Cllr Phil King, Leader of Harborough District Council, said: “Introducing the measures was the right thing to do at the time to provide shoppers with the confidence to come back to our town centres and to support safe social distancing and safe queuing. That increased confidence, plus evidence we have gathered, suggests the current best approach is to reopen the roads. That said; we will be monitoring the situation and may have to take necessary actions if measures are needed in the future to protect the public.”
Observations carried out in recent weeks found that very few people are using the closed streets to walk on, preferring to stick to the pavements – perhaps due to habit – and that queuing seems to be managed well. Deliveries were also challenging for some businesses in closed streets.
One restaurant in Adam and Eve Street said its daytime business and footfall was up since the road closures, but recognised that it was potentially impacting on neighbouring businesses.
Cllr King added: “We would like to thank all those businesses, shoppers and residents who took the time to share their views as part of the consultation process; all views have helped the discussions to identify the best way forward.”
Measures put in place in Church Street in Lutterworth to widen the pavement with barriers will also be removed.
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