Drake Street shops hurt by new loading rules

New loading rules on Drake Street

Shops on Drake Street, Rochdale say they are being hit hard by new loading and unloading regulations.

With Drake Street finally reopened after over two years of Metrolink works, which hit businesses on the street very hard, Rochdale Borough Council has now placed 'no loading at any time signs' on the street. This will stop shops loading and unloading vans or cars at any time of the day.

Staff and owners of the shops are disappointed think this will only hurt business further.

Tom Bartlett who works at Sanctuary Trust, a charity shop for homeless people said: “They’ve put the no loading at any time signs up but to me they haven’t given any consideration to the shops.

“At the end of the day, all they are doing is making it hard work for the shops that are on this street.”

The charity shop often receives furniture including washing machines, three piece suites and cookers and will now to have carry the items from the designated loading bays at the top of Drake Street. “They’re giving us a lot of hassle because we can’t park here now. They expect us to carry these items from the top of the street, to the shop and round to the back” added Tom.

Assma, owner of H.O.H. UK Ltd on Drake Street wasn’t aware of the signs until Rochdale Online spoke to her. She said: “They must be new because I didn’t know. The council aren’t helping local businesses at all.”

Gillian Cunningham from Drake Street News said: “We must have been told about them. I think we got some literature about it maybe three years ago.”

Helen Smith, Head of Property and Highways at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “The no loading signs were introduced because loading on Drake Street will cause an obstruction to passing trams.

"We have been working with local businesses to establish the best way for them to load and unload at their properties. We are encouraging them to use loading bays in the River Street car park and organise deliveries at the rear of shops where possible.

"Extra loading bays have been provided on Fleece Street for this purpose. We have been in regular contact with the Drake Street businesses throughout this process and there are plans to introduce more loading provision as the public realm improvements in this area continue.”