Cracked slabs prove headache for Bridgnorth businessman
Paving slabs have been cracked and damaged by vans and lorries repeatedly parking on the path outside a town centre business, a trader has claimed.
Keith Fellows wants action to be taken against offending drivers, who he says are potentially putting neighbours and pedestrians at risk by parking on the pavement to deliver to businesses on Queensway Drive in Bridgnorth.
Mr Fellows, who owns Style Studio on the road, said the final straw came last week when a delivery lorry cracked two of the slabs on the lower end of the pavement outside his shop front and lifted up and cracked one of the slabs on the stairs leading up to his business.
Shropshire Council has pledged to investigate Mr Fellows's claims before deciding what action top take.
Mr Fellows, who has owned a salon on the site for 25 years, said the issue had become more of a problem in recent times.
He said: "The lorries are absolutely huge, they take up two and a half shop fronts and their front wheels are up on the bottom part of the pavement and has cracked all of those.
"Then it caught the second step, lifted it up and cracked it.
"Customers are always coming in and complaining about the slabs further down the road."
In the past, Mr Fellows said he has spent £600 repairing damage to cracked slabs outside his salon, but said he has been in contact with the owner of the shop where the lorries deliver who said he would repair the damage caused to the slabs
"I don't want to have to incur the cost of replacing the slabs." he said. "People can come into the shop and complain to me about the damage because I am the one responsible for those slabs.
"Each shop is responsible for its own frontage. I always do my best to keep the slabs in order but when something like this happens it is so annoying."
Mr Fellows said he believed the size of the lorries were unsuitable for deliveries around Bridgnorth's narrow streets and that smaller vehicles should be used.
Claire Wild, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for transport and highways, said: "We were contacted by Mr Fellows on July 17 about uneven slabs in Queensway Drive.
"As a result, our local highway technician is currently looking into the situation, and looking to determine if Shropshire Council is responsible for the area of land in question.
"We'll contact Mr Fellows once our investigations are complete."
