S.B.A.

St Leonards on Sea Business Association

Chairman- Bill Orton
Ortons The Butcher
11 Norman Road
St Leonards-on-Sea
East Sussex TN37 6NH
01424 420322
www.sba-online.co.uk

18th November 2009

Rasoul Shahilow

Head of Parking & Highways Aquila House

Breeds Place

Hastings

East Sussex TN34 3UY

Dear Rasoul

Parking in St Leonards – West Side Norman Road Si Crystal Square

On behalf of the St Leonards Business Association I have been asked to request that the one hour parking restriction on the west side of Norman Road be reviewed and adjusted to a two hour no return limit

Generally the one hour restriction on the eastern side of London Road including the east side of Norman Road is working well for businesses and customers alike. Silchester Road at two hours is also satisfactory, however the majority of the customers of the businesses in the west side of Norman Road need time to browse and find the one hour insufficient. The antique shops located here are gaining a wide reputation for the quality of their offer and attract customers to St Leonards from far afield. There have been numerous cases of these customers receiving fixed penalty notices which is a deterrent to them but these are exactly the type of customer the regeneration programme was designed to attract.

I believe that during various discussions with you on parking issues we have reached a consensus that parking is a vital element in creating a climate where business can flourish and therefore I hope you will be favourably responsive to this request.

At a meeting of the Business Association last evening concern was also expressed that Crystal Square car park is underutilised; this we believe is in part due to poor signage directing motorists to this amenity and there also seems to be confusion about the route to leave the car park. There have been cases of drivers trying to use South Street to access London Road. When the proposals to close the junction of Cross Street and London Road we did request that this needed more thought, but unfortunately the closure has happened without any further discussion with the Association.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the above issues with as a matter of urgency or at least your response to this letter as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

Bill Orton Chairman

Cc Pranesh Data