DON'T axe our lifeline. That is the cry from New Forest traders who fear they may have to shut up shop for good if a popular ferry service is axed next winter.
The historic passenger ferry faces closure after its owners revealed that they could not afford a hefty hike in business rates, as revealed in yesterday's Daily Echo.
Shopkeepers in Hythe have told the Daily Echo that the historic passenger service to Southampton is a lifeline to local businesses.
Many rely on the passing trade created by the ferry which attracts commuters, summer tourists and shoppers who visit the village's weekly market and regular farmers ' markets.
Some traders in the Waterside village say they would be affected so much that they would have to shut up shop for good.
Landlady Bobsy O'Hara of the Lord Nelson pub was shocked by the latest threat to the ferry.
"It would be awful for trade in Hythe because the ferry is so popular all year round with locals," she said. "It's very important for my business because I am right next door to the ferry.
"It's part of the history of Hythe and it would be terrible if it went."
Ferry bosses White Horse say they may be forced to axe the service next winter if they have to pay the spiralling business rates bill.
The ferry service is already heavily subsidised by taxpayers, who pay out about £113,000 every year to keep the service running and towards vital repair work.
Local traders are still reeling from a fall in passenger numbers after a dredger ploughed into Hythe Pier in 2003.
Ferries had to operate from a pontoon at Hythe Marina for nearly ten weeks after the Donald Redford crashed into the pier, causing £300,000 damage.
The owner of Be-Be's Caf in Pylewell Road, Habib Ghahramanizadi, said: "We were so quiet during the weeks when there was no ferry here. I had to cut down on my staff but we knew it would change eventually.
"If that happens again we will have serious problems. It creates 50 per cent of my trade and I don't think I could survive without it."
"If people can't go on the ferry, they will just drive to Southampton and not come to Hythe. This shop has always survived on the ferry so I don't so how we could continue if it went."
Daphne Harding, owner of Magpie Interiors in the High Street for the past ten years, said: "It is essential to Hythe and if it closed it would be a very sad day for the village. If the ferry goes, I think I would just close down. I definitely feel we would lose out terribly."
"I would close down if the ferry service wasn't there. It would be a disaster and would have a tremendous impact on the trade in Hythe."
Nik Nikandrou, chairman of Hythe Business Partnership, said: "It would be a great disappointment if it did close, especially after everyone worked so hard to reopen it."
The Inland Revenue's Valuation Office Agency re-evaluates all businesses and non-domestic properties every five years.
The latest increase is a 740 per cent hike, where rates would rise from £1,459.20 to £12,257.25.
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