Regarding a proposed amendment to no loading/unloading in the High Street Epsom to 'at anytime'.
As an employee of a High Street Epsom company, I regularly see delivery drivers to Mountain Warehouse getting tickets from officious parking enforcement officers even though they are carrying out the deliveries at a time when the road is at its quietest around 7.30 - 8.00am ish.
Although I appreciate that the signage states they should not load/unload during these times it has always seemed ridiculous to me as the only times it permitted loading/unloading the driver would be causing chaos by stopping there and it was common sense that they do it when the traffic was at its quietest and caused least disruption.
I, along with many others judging by the letters you receive, are under the impression that Epsom and Ewell Council and Surrey County Council are trying to kill off businesses in Epsom. A for instance is the parking charges for both shoppers and staff working in Epsom are ridiculously high, they are actually more expensive than parking in Sutton which is a larger shopping centre and closer to London. Where is the logic? Epsom and Ewell has been proposing putting in parking restrictions (resident permits) in the roads around Epsom where staff servicing the retailers in Epsom have to park because they can’t afford the exorbitant parking charges.
When Epsom and Ewell Council could make more of the Derby and The Oaks they encourage people attending the races to bypass Epsom altogether and funnel them straight up to the Downs - losing small local retailers a great deal of money.
As a further demonstration I note from your paper that Surrey County Council has now put in a proposed amendment to make the no loading/unloading in the High Street Epsom 'at anytime' rather than the restricted hours that currently apply.
Rather than restricting it further surely it would make more sense to amend the times of the restrictions to when the traffic is quieter or get the traffic enforcement officers to apply common sense and permit companies to re-stock when they receive the deliveries at quieter times.
I assume Surrey County Council has a plan as an alternative to permit businesses on the High Street to receive their stock/deliveries, or am I to understand that they are admitting to trying to drive the companies out of business?
C Blade
Via email
- Send your letters to: letters@epsomguardian.co.uk
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