Date proposed for controversial new red route

Businesses are calling on Brighton & Hove City Council to change course after it announced when a "red route" will be introduced on a vital thoroughfare.

Reconstruction and resurfacing work, expected to take 45 days, is due to begin on Western Road from 28 September, with stopping banned after the project completes.

Alastair Gourlay, owner of Real Patisserie on the route, said the restrictions would be "detrimental to trade, maybe to jobs, and unnecessary".

The council said the scheme was "not about adding restrictions, rather it is aimed at more effective enforcement".

The road already has double yellow lines. Under the Highway Code, this allows stopping to collect or drop off passengers, or for loading, but no waiting.

Blue Badge holders can park on double yellows for three hours.

On red routes, stopping for any purpose becomes prohibited except for licensed taxis and Blue Badge holders.

Fines for stopping are £70, reduced to £35 if paid early.

The council proposes introducing 10 loading bays on Western Road, between Holland Road and Montpelier Road, as well as disabled bays on the road and its side streets.

The council's cabinet is expected to sign off on the red route in September, ahead of the roadworks.

Officials argue the red route would "improve safety through more effective enforcement" against antisocial parking, including by introducing CCTV.

But Gourlay said the restrictions would be "a disadvantage for disabled people" and traders.

The patisserie owner said he had "every sympathy with safety measures" but that the "number of accidents is actually very low on Western Road" already.

He told the BBC that during a previous period of roadworks his Western Road shop had "lost 7% to 8% of trade year on year" and that he expected a similar drop-off due to the red route.

"That is into an area where you're starting to talk about job losses," he said.

Some businesses on the road said they were fundraising for a legal challenge against the council.

Jo Hemmings, who lives near Western Road, said the rule change felt "highly unnecessary because it's not an especially congested road".

She disputed the extent of illegal parking on the road and said "parking enforcement wardens could do a better job about that" with existing double-yellow restrictions.

"It's a really lovely community hub," she told the BBC.

"They've gone through Covid and they survived, they've gone through a cost of living crisis and they've survived, and I feel this is the last straw for a lot of small businesses."

Trevor Muten, the council's cabinet member for transport, said: "We still regularly see persistent antisocial and illegal parking making Western Road less safe."

He said this affected "traffic flow and congestion" as well as presenting hazards for deliveries, Blue Badge access, pedestrians, cyclists and buses.

The measure was "about keeping this busy section of the city centre moving" and "helping keep our pavements clear and accessible for all", he added.

The restrictions would be installed under a 12-month traffic order, allowing for changes to the scheme if required, according to officials.

The proposal follows an earlier public consultation.

Red routes are already in place on London Road and Lewes Road, which Muten said "make our streets safer and cleaner while maintaining footfall".

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