Close our parking bays and kill off our village.

That was the stark message from angry traders in Ewell Village to Surrey County Council after it tried to remove parking bays down the High Street last month.

The traders did not find out until Thursday, April 24, that the bays would be removed the following Monday.

It was only when they kicked up a storm about the plan, and MP Chris Grayling and Councillor John Beckett got involved, that the proposal was scrapped at the last minute.

While many traders understand the council's concerns about congestion and air quality, the lack of consultation has left them fuming.

Ewell Traders’ Association is now working with the Residents’ Association and the borough's business development manager Adam Worley on a proposal to keep the high street parking bays, but for short-term parking, with no parking during rush hours and unrestricted parking overnight.

Discussion continues ahead of the meeting as to what exactly constitutes ‘rush hours’, with many businesses arguing it should be 4.30pm, and the county council saying 3pm.

The proposal will be presented at a public local committee meeting with county and borough councillors next month. Satbir Sandhu who runs Ewell Bakery, said if the bays are closed: "I think it will kill the whole village to be honest with you."

Kenneth Eve who has run Kenneth J Eve High Class Butchers on the high street for 27 years said he has had regular customers tell him they will not be able to buy from him any more if the parking bays go.

Even with the current parking bays he has lost customers because they can't find places to park.

The council has claimed the move is necessary because of congestion in the narrow street but Mr Eve argues that there were no congestion problems before the traffic lights at Bourne Hall were installed several years ago.

He does not know what the solution is but points to extra car park decks added by Sainsbury’s and St Helier Hospital, and wonders if a deck could be added to a nearby car park, for business owners to park there, leaving more room for their customers on the high street.

Erol Harman, owner of Ewell Village Dry Cleaners, believes the attempted removal of the bays and the adding of the double yellow lines demonstrates a fundamental ignorance about what brings people to Ewell Village.

"This is a convenience village," he said. "People come along, pop in and pop out. The council are trying to turn it into a motorway."

And he is very angry about the lack of discussion with traders whose livelihood depends on it: "They don’t consult you, they look down on you as if you are nobody."

57-year-old customer, Joan Dewar, said of the proposed parking bay closures: "It would be a nightmare. People’s shops would close down."

The meeting will take place at Bourne Hall, Ewell, at 7pm on June 23, and individuals may make representations to the chair, Councillor Eber Kington.

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