Drury café in Hove calls for change in parking restrictions

Elaine Lewis, 61, is owner of Drury Tea and Coffee on Richardson Road in Hove.

The road currently has a number of restrictions including time limited parking and resident permit holder spaces.

Elaine explained how customers regularly get confused by the different restrictions.

She said: “The customers always get confused. They get confused by the one hour they can’t park between 10 and 11.

“They get it so wrong. Some people think that they can only park between 10 and 11.”

READ MORE: Parking charges could be introduced in four Sussex villages

Directly outside the café, parking restrictions currently state ‘two hours, no return within one hour’.

On other areas of the road restrictions read ‘permit holders only, 10-11am and 7-8pm’.Restriction signs on Richardson Road, Hove (Image: The Argus Staff) Last year it was proposed that the road would have areas of paid parking, however this was overturned.

Elaine praised the council for this decision but called for more spaces which allow stopping for at least an hour.

“I did contact Peter Kyle’s office last year and they did get the council to stop the paid parking on the road, and we’re very grateful that they did that.

“It would just be nice if there was a few more of these one-hour spaces, maybe if the whole road was one hour. It would help everyone’s business so much.

“Because, for example, builders might want to pop in for a coffee and a bacon sandwich, but they’ve got to not be hungry between 10 and 11. It’s inconvenient.”

Drury Tea and Coffee opened on Richardson Road in 2006 and serves a range of hot and cold drinks, as well as sweet and savoury treats.

Elaine shared the importance of supporting small, local businesses.

She said: “That’s the difference because small places, we survive and thrive by caring about the people who come to us.

“And we keep our prices under Costa and under everyone else to give us a fighting chance. We’ve been here 18 years, so we’ve seen a lot of change. It’s got harder to run a business.”

Emma Burnett, 66, grew up on Richardson Road and has fond memories of the street.

Elaine and Emma outside Drury Cafe (Image: The Argus Staff) She shared how she believes the current parking restrictions do not meet the needs of the businesses.

Emma said: “For all the little shops on this street, you can’t drive past and get your meal, or you can’t go to the hairdresser, it’s crazy. It’s just not supporting small business.

“These businesses are the backbone of the community, and the council has to support small businesses.

“You go to so many places and all the shops are closed. What does that do for an area? They say that the biggest factor in health and well-being is community and this is community.”

When recently visiting the Drury, Emma received a parking fine due to having been parked illegally.

Emma believes others have faced a similar situation and highlighted how changes in the road’s parking restrictions would be beneficial to ensuring businesses survive.

She explained: This road is my childhood, my heritage, coming over to spend my pocket money, and being with my parents and grandparents. It would be so sad.

“You go to so many places and shops are closed and they’re empty, and they are ghost towns. It’s such a small change but it could make such a huge difference, and if that could help the businesses down here survive, then I don’t see why they wouldn’t want to do that.”

Councillor Trevor Muten, Cabinet member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm, said: “The current parking arrangements in place on Richardson Road were implemented many years ago, following a lengthy consultation with local residents and businesses in the area.

 “Considerable effort was taken to balance the needs of the entire community, including traders.

 “We also followed this up recently with a further consultation with residents, who were reluctant for these arrangements to be changed.

 “These are not new restrictions and we are confident they are well understood by residents and people who regularly visit local businesses.

 “We do, however, understand the needs of the local community can change over time, and are committed to working with local businesses to make sure arrangements work for everyone.

“I would encourage anyone with concerns or ideas for changes to existing parking arrangements to contact us directly with their suggestions, which they can submit via our website.

 “Parking income is used to benefit the entire city and by law, any surplus generated by parking fees and charges must be spent on provision of public transport services, improving our parking services, road and pathways safety and improvement schemes, and air quality or environmental improvements.”