BUSINESS owners have warned they will not survive if the closure of Portswood Broadway to cars is given the green light.
Portswood residents and business owners alike have expressed their disdain at the council’s proposal to cut access to all, excluding buses, taxis, and pedestrians.
The Broadway is home to a thriving community of cafes, food outlets, and shops, the majority of which have parking spaces outside their premises.
However, if the plans go ahead, there will be no access to vehicles which could have a detrimental effect on many people.
'We will not survive'
Owners of South Indian restaurant Kohinoor of Kerala said it will “kill our business.”
Abraham Oommen, 51, said: “This is going to damage the business and we will not survive.
“A lot of our customers are drivers and they don’t want to park far away to collect the food.
“And we have got some elderly customers who need to drive to get to us.
“The council can spend this money better.”
READ MORE: Hundreds sign petition against closing Portswood Broadway to cars
Joint owner Kamal Naier, 56, added: “If you can’t drive through, people won’t come as they pick our food up and go, it’s mainly takeaways.
“We have people from Portsmouth, Fareham, Basingstoke and Salisbury come here for our food.
“It will go very badly.”
The manager of one of the longest-standing stores in Portswood said she will relocate the business if the plans are approved.
Resident and Brides of Southampton manager, Gemma Cranmer, 39, said: “The shop has been in this high street since 1976.
“Taking away access to cars would be catastrophic to the business in terms of my customers, my staff, and my deliveries.
“We have two years left on the lease so if the plans go ahead, we will be leaving. It’s not viable for our business.”
'A disaster'
Hundreds of people have signed a petition against the plans to stop private vehicles from using Portswood Broadway.
READ NEXT: Fears road closure will create 'rat run' for 12,000 cars on lane filled with potholes
The current figure stands at 1,200 signatures with more expected over the coming days.
Of those signatures, around 500 paper petitions have been signed on top of the 727 who have signed the online version.
Resident of 31 years John Nightingale described the council’s proposal as “madness.”
The 75-year-old said: “I think it’s a disaster to want to close the high street.
“My plea is that the council don’t do this as it will be so disturbing to the businesses here.
“They are going to kill the high street. It’s absolute madness to be honest.”
'It will kill all trade'
Fears shoppers will stop visiting the area were raised by Sant Jewellers owner Vinny Kumar.
Vinny, 45, said: “It’s going to kill all the trade, it will be a dead zone.
“Portswood is declining as it is, and this is going to make it much worse.
“I can’t see why the council wants to go ahead with this. It’s not going to get any greener if people are stuck in traffic.”
Fellow business owner Sharif Ahmed, owner and founder of Sprinkles Gelato, added: “I imagine a lot of people will think twice before coming here now.
“There’s no prediction for the potential traffic caused by these plans. We can’t believe this has even been considered.”
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