Red Route Pilot Scheme (Islington) (Hansard, 21 May 1991)

§ Mr. Chris Smith (Islington, South and Finsbury)

I have the honour to present on behalf of 788 of my constituents and others 15 petitions relating to the introduction by the Department of Transport of a pilot red route along the line of the A1 through my constituency and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Mr. Corbyn).

The first petition is a petition of the staff of Islington Green school, with 43 signatures on it, saying that they complain that the proposed pilot scheme for red routes in London will irretrievably damage the ancient shopping and business streets and communities through which the pilot route passes, and they note that it excites strong and widespread opposition. That indeed is the case.

There is a petition from the proprietor and shoppers of "At the Sign of the Chest of Drawers" in Upper street, London N1, signed by 18 people. That petition says that the pilot scheme for red routes introduced in January 1991 along Upper street, has damaged the trade and access to local shopping along the implemented section and is strongly opposed by the petitioners.

There is a petition with 11 signatures from the staff and clients of SSS Dry Cleaners of 264 Upper street London N1. They say that the red route pilot scheme involving parking and loading restrictions has had a detrimental effect on their right to trade and to accessible local services.

There is a petition with 252 signatures from the proprietor, staff and users of Canonbury Art and Picture Framers of 266 Upper street, London N1. They say that the red route pilot scheme as implemented on Upper street has proved detrimental to their trade, has limited access to local shopping and indeed threatens irreparable harm to the local business community. That is a sentiment that I entirely share and endorse.

There is a petition containing 42 signatures from the staff and customers of the Canonbury Book Shop of 271 Upper street, London N1 . They say that the A1 red route implemented on our stretch of Upper Street … has made shopping increasingly difficult because of parking restrictions, has made business difficult because of loading restrictions and is therefore opposed by your petitioners. There is a petition from the proprietor and customers of a secondhand furniture store at 209–11 Holloway road, London N7. It states that the pilot scheme has seriously affected the ability of the business to carry out trade, which necessitates loading and unloading heavy items of furniture. It says that it is difficult for the proprietor and difficult for customers, and is affecting the proprietor's livelihood, in common with many other traders along the red route.

There is a petition from the owner, staff and customers of Formsigns of 537 Holloway road, London N19. They say that their business has been seriously affected by the parking and loading restrictions that have been imposed as a result of the red route experiment, and that they have lost 30 to 40 per cent. of their business. Their customers go elsewhere because of the inconvenience in finding parking space and of having to carry heavy goods a long way. They claim that fellow traders are equally badly affected and 899 that shops and businesses are closing, with a downgrading effect on the whole neighbourhood, which has received no benefit from the scheme.

There is a petition containing 72 signatures from the proprietor, staff and customers of the Kebab House and Restaurant of 544 Holloway road. They say that the red route scheme means that their customers cannot stop and park. They say that they experience difficulty with their meat deliveries. They claim that this has meant a 50 per cent. cut in their take-away and restaurant trade. They believe that that is not good either for the local community.

There is a petition containing 35 signatures from the proprietor and customers of News and Food of 651 Holloway road, London N19. The petition states that the red route experiment along the Holloway road has had a serious effect on the business because people cannot stop to shop, and if they do they receive a ticket or can be towed away. It is claimed that the situation is especially serious for customers with disabilities who want to stop as near to the shop as is possible. It is said that shops will close because of the experiment.

There is a petition bearing four signatures from the London Trophy Company of 653 Holloway road, London N19. The petition states that the business is seriously affected by the experimental red route on the Holloway road. The business depends on ease of access to customers. As it is a specialist London-wide company, customers who have difficulty in stopping, parking or collecting their goods are unlikely to come to the shop again.

There is a petition containing 36 signatures from the proprietor, staff, customers and distributors of Moonlight Collection of 660A Holloway road, London N19. It says that the business is badly affected because of the loading difficulties that are associated with the experimental red route, such that they cannot go about their business easily, and nor can their customers or collectors for retail outlets.

There is a petition with 53 signatures from the buyers at Pure Groove Records of 679 Holloway road, London N19. It shows that the Red Routes are preventing us from doing business in the store easily meaning that the place is losing money and could close down. This is a specialist place and must not be allowed to go.

There is a petition with 40 signatures from the proprietor of La Boulangerie at 746 Holloway road, London N19, and his staff and customers. It says that the experimental traffic scheme, the Red Route, is damaging his business, affecting his customers so that they do not want to shop there, and damaging other traders next to him. There is a petition with 55 signatures from the proprietor and customers of a florist's store at 748 Holloway road, London N19, which says that the Red Route Pilot scheme is having a deleterious effect on our business. We rely on people being able to stop easily to buy flowers and they are now unable to do this. We are also concerned that people with disabilities are not allowed to stop to shop and have been ticketed and asked to move on—this is unacceptable. All local shopping is affected by this scheme and this has an adverse effect on the neighbourhood. Finally, there is a petition with 69 signatures from the staff and customers of Crest Wines of 790 Holloway road, London N19. They say that the Red Route Pilot scheme has damaged local trade to the extent that it may not recover, has made it very difficult for people with disabilities to shop locally, has made Holloway Road itself less safe for pedestrians because traffic speeds have increased and has proved to be of no benefit to the local community whatsoever whilst creating an urban highway 900 dedicated to car commuters speeding through Archway on their way to the City or Docklands. The local community, especially the business community, will die. That petition is not exaggerated. The feeling of local people, and especially of local traders, is accurately reflected in the petitions. There is an enormous depth of feeling about this issue locally and I hope that the Secretary of State for Transport will take some notice, for once, of the views of local people about this matter.

§ Mr. Jeremy Corbyn (Islington, North)

I rise to present 19 petitions concerning the introduction of a red route pilot scheme along the Holloway road through my constituency, with 1,301 supporting signatures on them.

These petitions come from the owners and customers of a large number of small businesses along the route who are quite rightly concerned about the safety and the future of the community and the increasing volumes of traffic that they believe that the red route is likely to bring.

The first petition is To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. The Humble Petition of owner, staff and customers of Chris Stevens Ltd., Tile and Mosaic Supplies, 561 Holloway Road, London N19.

Sheweth that the Red Route scheme as implemented on the Holloway Road has made it difficult to carry out our trade, our suppliers find it difficult to make deliveries and our clients are hampered in collecting their goods. Our trade relies on people being able to park and load easily …

We are an important local trader with spin off for other trades e.g. newsagents and cafes—the red route is affecting all local trade and may mean closures in some cases. This has a serious effect on local businesses and the local community. We are also seriously concerned about pedestrians using the zebra crossing near us, women, children and older people are particularly at risk from the traffic speeds and the inability of some traffic to pull up easily.

Wherefore your petitioners pray that your Honourable House will urge the Secretary of State for Transport to abandon the A1 Red Route pilot scheme now and protect our local shopping. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. This petition is supported by 436 signatures.

The next petition is from the staff and customers of the pet shop at 620 Holloway road. It says that they have had a 20 to 30 per cent. loss of trade. The route is damaging to local shopping and has made Holloway road less safe for pedestrians because of increased traffic speeds. The scheme is therefore damaging the whole community. It, too, asks for the abandonment of the scheme.

The next is from the residents of Ferntower road, which is some way from the Holloway road but people from there use the area for their shopping. The petition shows that the proposed pilot scheme of red routes in London will irretrievably damage the ancient shopping and business streets and communities through which the pilot route passes and excites strong and widespread opposition. The petition asks for the scheme to be abandoned, and seeks increased investment in public transport.

The next petition is from the owner and customers of the Aviation book shop at 656 Holloway road, where business is badly affected by restrictions imposed by the red route. As a specialist shop, it finds it difficult because of people's inability to make deliveries and of customers' inability to get to the shop.

901 There is also a petition from Archway News, of 693 Holloway road, showing that the red route pilot scheme is a blight on the community … is affecting our local businesses. People can no longer stop to shop. People crossing the road are in ever increasing danger from faster traffic, and supplies cannot be delivered. Residents cannot park because cars use up the space and shops are beginning to lose out. Again, the petitioners ask that the scheme be abandoned and that local shopping facilities be protected. I can well understand their feelings, as I use that shop myself.

The customers of Andrewes cafe at 782 Holloway road say that the red routes are bad for local business and for the community, and particularly for those with disabilities who want to stop and go into shops and find their vehicles ticketed as a result.

Customers of the cafe at 628 Holloway road say: the operation of the red routes is affecting local shopping badly. Shopkeepers find it difficult to maintain their businesses because loading is difficult and because people can no longer stop to shop. Local residents cannot park near our homes because the space is taken up by large numbers of cars, and crossing Holloway road has become dangerous and difficult. I have another petition, from the customers of the New York Pizza at 624 Holloway road. It makes similar points about the difficulties of receiving deliveries. It is also difficult for people to come into this shop. The petition also asks for the scheme to be abandoned.

Staff and customers of the Delight supermarket on Holloway road have also presented a petition. I know it well; it is an important local facility: Parking, and particularly the loading restrictions outside the store, are having a damaging effect on our trade because of the difficulty of having goods delivered to the shop for sale. There is a petition from the staff and customers of Sam's News, of 638 Holloway road, showing that the red route experiment on the Holloway road has cut our trade in half and is having an equally serious effect on other local shops which the local community rely on. A lot of our customers want to maintain local shopping. Holloway road is in danger of becoming an urban highway, with no shops. I fully understand and agree with that sentiment.

I have here a petition from the staff and customers of Lazio's jewellers, of 677 Holloway road, stating that the experimental red route scheme in operation on the Holloway road prevents people from stopping and receiving deliveries to the shops. There is a petition from the customers and users of Motorman, of 621 Holloway road, showing that the red route pilot scheme is an unmitigated disaster for shoppers and traders alike. A petition from the staff and students of the polytechnic of north London, which has buildings on both sides of the Holloway road and in other parts of north London, says that the pilot scheme for red routes in London will irretrievably damage ancient shopping and business streets and communities through which the pilot route passes and excites widespread opposition. 902 A petition from a company called Chris Fitzgerald, of 670 to 672 Holloway road, shows that lack of shopping facilities in the district is damaging to it. The petition is supported and signed by 18 people who would like the scheme to be abandoned.

A petition from the staff and customers of Car Parts, at 552 Holloway road, states: the red route scheme has damaged our trade, made it difficult for our clients to use the shop and is damaging the trade of other local shops. It has 72 signatures.

There is a petition from the shoppers of a television repairs and electrical goods shop at 548 Holloway road. It is a typical local shop that performs a valuable service. The petition states that the red route scheme introduced in Holloway road in January 1991 has meant that the shop has lost customers. It states that there has been a 20 per cent. loss in takings, it is very difficult for our customers who are bringing larger goods to the shop because they can't stop outside, it also makes it difficult for us to get our deliveries, and our neighbouring traders are also affected; thus there is a serious effect on local shopping for customers and traders alike. That petition has 54 signatures.

There is a petition from the owners and customers of Dan's cafe, at 673 Holloway road, showing that the red route scheme has had a serious effect on the trade of the cafe. That has 51 customers' signatures.

There is a petition from the owners of the franchise of the Perfect Pizza restaurant at 663 Holloway road showing that the red route experimental scheme has had a disastrous effect on take-away trade and deliveries by car, and that bikes cannot stop at the premises, which means that people look elsewhere. There is a petition from the customers and staff of the Chip Inn fish bar, of 193 Holloway road, showing that the scheme has seriously affected our business which relied on passing and stopping trade and has also made it dangerous for children crossing the Holloway Road because of speeding traffic. That petition has 72 signatures.

I am pleased to be able to present those petitions and well understand the sentiment behind them. Like those people who have signed the petitions, I live in the district and am devastated to see shop after shop go out of business. As they do so, the community along the Holloway road is gradually being killed off. We want public transport, not cars speeding through our community. That is the nub of the argument behind the petitions. I hope that the Secretary of State for Transport will end the ridiculous experiment as soon as possible so that the local community can get on with its life. The Department of Transport should put time, energy and resources into improving public transport so that we can use it rather than having subsidised company cars speeding through our community.