Harvey Nichols sees red over double-yellows outside shop

Published on Tuesday 13 February 2007 12:04

HARVEY Nichols has hit out at tighter parking restrictions outside its city store, saying they are driving customers away.

Visitors to the store's Forth Floor Restaurant are finding their taxis have been chased away by parking attendants.

Delivery drivers have also been stopped from popping into the store since double yellow lines were extended across its front door.

The problem has been raised with the city council by store bosses who want to see a stretch of single yellow line brought back.

The concession was scrapped last year to allow buses diverted from Princes Street to get through St Andrew Square more quickly.

Annette Lamb, marketing manager at Harvey Nicks, said: "We've been trying to get the council to change the regulations as they are causing us problems on a regular basis.

"No-one is allowed to park there at all, even just for a few minutes. Delivery drivers aren't allowed to stop outside the front door at all and have to keep driving around.

"The parking attendants have made it clear people will get a ticket for waiting for someone and taxis can't even wait for people coming out of our bar and restaurant upstairs on the fourth floor.

"The whole thing is to the detriment of our business and we believe we are losing custom from some people because of the difficulties.

"We asked the council in the autumn to do something about this and thought we had an assurance that the single yellow line would be brought back, but now we've discovered the double yellows have been repainted."

Customers using the store used to be able to use a couple of parking spaces outside the front door, where there was a single yellow line, which gives drivers a few minutes grace.

However, the council ordered a double yellow line be painted across it in the wake of controversial traffic management changes in the city centre. The changes led to many bus services being re-routed around St Andrew Square.

Ian Sayers, Harvey Nicks' doorman, said: "Often people just need to stop for a minute or two to drop a delivery off through the front door or pick someone up, particularly taxi drivers. We're always having to warn people about the risks of getting a ticket and I've seen quite a few people getting fined."

The council said today it was willing to look at the arrangements again to see whether it could do anything to help the store.

Councillor Ricky Henderson, the city's transport leader, said: "We're happy to discuss issues with Harvey Nichols and make changes where possible.

"It's a difficult balancing act with the limited road space in the city centre, but we are always striving to look after retailers' needs, as well as the needs of bus users, motorists, cyclists and pedestrians."

Several years ago the council was involved in a long-running war of words with staff at the Balmoral Hotel amid claims parking attendants were deliberately targeting guests.

The dispute was eventually settled when the local authority agreed to allow hotel visitors special dispensation.