Morrisons' staff car parking 'killing trade for Donnington Parade'

Supermarket staff are killing trade for businesses in an area of Telford by parking their vehicles in customer spaces, it is claimed today.

Shop owners say staff from the new Morrisons store in Turreff Avenue, Donnington, which opened its doors this week, have been told not to park in the supermarket's car park and are instead leaving their vehicles in spaces used by customers outside shops on the nearby Donnington Parade.

Richard Morris, owner of Lynn's Bakery, which is based at Donnington Parade, said: "It's going to kill the Parade.

"We've been here for 30 years and I've never seen anything like this."

She added: "We don't object to Morrisons being there, but haven't got enough parking spaces for all of their staff and customers."

Other shops at the parade include a newsagents, a pharmacy, a salon, clothes shops, takeaways, an opticians and the bakery.

"The staff have been told not to park in their own car park and are instead parking in the places on the parade which belong to Telford & Wrekin Council," added Mr Morris.

"Most people only stop for about 15 minutes, pick a sandwich and go, but these people are parking all day long.

"There are no restrictions on the parade.

"It's crazy to put a supermarket in the middle of a housing estate with just 30 parking places."

Morrisons, which used to be a Netto store, opened on Monday after a three-week refurbishment. The store includes a butchers, bakery and greengrocers and employs 52 staff.

A Morrisons spokesperson said: "We understand that colleagues temporarily parking outside the car park has caused some disruption to our neighbours and would like to apologise for any inconvenience.

"We expect the flow of traffic to the store to ease in the coming days, which will free up enough spaces for our customers and colleagues."

A Telford & Wrekin Council spokesman said: "We were alerted to an issue with the use of parking spaces at Donnington Parade and have been in contact with the manager of the new Morrisons store.

"He has agreed to co-operate on this matter and has issued a message to his staff asking them not to use the spaces on the parade."

By Paul Mannion