Upton upon Severn's waterfront set for pedestrian zone trial

Three bollards have been installed outside Studio Gallery, on Waterside, with a trial of a new pedestrian zone to begin by Tuesday (July 9) once extra signage is in place.

Kyle Hassall, who owns waterfront restaurant The Boathouse, said: "It's chaos here particularly on the weekend because of the amount of cars that park here or find out it's a dead-end so they're doing three-point-turns.

"I'm fairly impartial to the trial itself, one negative for me is that deliveries will be a pain.

"The driver will have to stop at the bollards and come and get the keys off me, or visa versa."

Each of the traders operating in the zone has been given keys to the bollards, meaning they are in charge of unlocking them for deliveries and then putting them back in place.

Mr Hassell added: "But I'm hoping it will look better for tourists arriving in Upton, and make the area more people-friendly."

Gerald Savine, Studio Gallery's owner, added: "We have cars and large vans parking outside our doors all the time, blocking us out from view.

"This trial will hopefully have positive impact."

Upton upon Severn's deputy mayor, Jennifer Stephens, confirmed the motivation behind the trial was "public safety" and "to stop people parking where they shouldn't be."

Worcestershire County councillor, Martin Allen, was part of team who handed out bollard keys to traders on Friday (July 5). He said: "We're doing this trial to stop cars whizzing down here constantly."

"We want to make sure traders here aren't affected by the bollards, so myself and officers from the council will arrange set times to meet with them to get their feedback, and that of other residents.

"Upton punches above its weight, but we have to keep going."

The three-month trial, which is led by Upton Town Council and Worcestershire County Council, can be extended to 18 months if desired - and a positive result could lead to a more permanent pedestrian zone in future.