COUNCIL chiefs have abandoned the daily closure of Leominster's High Street after listening to grave concerns of business.

Shop owners feared for the future of their businesses if road closures remained, but now the council has U-turned on the decision to close the roads to vehicles for three hours every day, except Sunday.

High Street was closed from 10am to 1pm in a bid to aid social distancing, but Jo Geerlings, owner of the Flying Dutchman cafe, said the majority of businesses had seen a drop in trade. Justifying the closures last month, the council's roads chief said it limited the risk of a disastrous local lockdown. 

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Councillor John Harrington, cabinet member for infrastructure and transport, has since said the road closure will now only be in place on Fridays, when a market is held in Corn Square.

"“We recently introduced a number of temporary travel measures to make it easier for people to walk and cycle safely around our towns and the city.

"As promised, we have listened to feedback and have decided to make some changes in response.

“The Leominster High Street closure, 10am-1pm, which was subject to extensive consultation and the full support of the town council, will now only take place on Fridays."

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He added: "I have spoken with a great number of people, including ward councillors, shop owners and hospitality businesses and it became clear that there were significant concerns around the closures. We have therefore made adjustments.

“I would like to thank everybody for their constructive input and we will continue to monitor and seek feedback as we adjust and modify schemes.”