Revised Development Strategy

As a business owner, resident and current spokesperson for the Smith Street Traders Association I would like to express my and my fellow traders of Smith St our dismay at the current proposals.

Do you realise the impact to Smith St by placing a no right turn into St Nicholas Church Street? Obviously not, so I'll enlighten you.

Smith St traders depend on traffic flowing down the street as there is very little footfall.
We depend on cars coming through so that they can park on the street or to discover us on route to their destination. If vehicles and it's passengers have come from the West side or even the South west side (Banbury Road) how can they possibly get back from Smith St if they can't turn right into St Nicholas Church St to get back to the Castle Hill roundabout and then turn left or right to get back home or wherever else they have come from?

This change would absolutely discourage potential customers coming to Smith Street as their will be no way back. Potential customers will have to proceed down into St Johns and Emscote Road, do you then expect them to turn around in the Sainsbury's Local car park so that they can get onto St Nicholas Church Street and get home? Cars and the customers will either not come to Smith St or even Warwick if this scheme goes ahead. You will turn the street into an island of empty units as cars that carry the customers find an alternative way back to the West & south side of Warwick by clogging up The Butts as they proceed onto Priory Rd, straight across into St Nicholas Church St missing out Smith St altogether. This will be a disaster for traders and the town. Warwick's oldest shopping street, 100% occupied by independents decimated by flawed decisions by Warwickshire County Council.

The really bizarre thing about this is WCC recently invested £400,000.00 in Operation Footfall. A scheme which I successfully applied for funds to put in place a program to encourage people to come and shop in Warwick. Here you are with this proposal actively encouraging people not to come into Smith St with it's 60 odd business's. Just think of the rates that you will lose plus the investment in which Operation Footfall has made?

Within your plan document, page 64 you appear to be actively wishing to promote home shopping under the heading of "Smarter Choices" One word for this, 'Hypocrisy" when you have invested £440k in Operation Footfall.

I and the rest of Smith St Traders Association urge you to reconsider this flawed proposal in this area of Warwick.