Rallying call goes out to support Bidford businesses while bridge is closed

WHEN the shout went out to support businesses in Bidford, the community was quick to react, but the message is more help is needed.

It’s almost a month since an Uber car smashed into the bridge causing structural damage that will take months to fix.

District councillor Daren Pemberton (Con, Bidford East) spoke about the impact.

He said: “It is a devastating blow, particularly for the businesses on the High Street and up on the industrial estate. They rely on both their workers and people buying their services.

“We’ve got a cost of living crisis, and this is the last thing that businesses need. The business owners are really not very happy. And neither is the community.”

When the bridge closed for months in 2015 after it was hit by a farm vehicle, it’s estimated that business fell by 20 per cent.

Describing how they are feeling the pinch now, Annabel Richardson of Annabel Sarah Bridal said: “Bidford is quite a sleepy village normally but this has made it so much worse.

“Brides that would normally travel over the bridge are having to park on the Honeybourne side and pay for parking. And the car park near us is full of people that would normally park on the Meadow. It’s definitely slowed things down for us, and made our brides’ experience a little bit more hectic when normally it’s smooth-going.”

Maria Prew, who runs the Tilly Rose Beauty Boutique, echoed Annabel’s concerns.

She said: “We’ve already had clients saying they won’t keep paying the parking fee on the Meadow to visit us but we are fortunate as the majority will still support us while the bridge is closed. However I do feel that the takeaways and other businesses that rely more on spontaneous trade while lose out.”

The issue of parking is proving to be a tricky one. Although residents have free parking on Big Meadow, potential customers from outside the village find that free options are either full or further away.

As Annabel pointed out: “People are parking at the free car park near the High Street and staying there all day – so there should be a time limit, and all of the Meadow car parking should be free all day to everyone.”

Bidford Parish Council said it is aware of the plight of business and was doing its utmost to support them, including making extra parking arrangements.

Chair Rob Williams said: ‘We’re aware that the closure of the bridge has hit local businesses hard, and we’ve opened the winter car park – the tarmac area in front of Big Meadow to encourage visitors. The car park is open all day from Monday to Friday and from 5pm to 7am at weekends, enabling drivers from south of the river to leave their cars and walk across the bridge to the High Street.

“The parish council has also put up banners on the advertising gates at various entrances to the village reminding visitors and shoppers that the High Street remains open for business, and encouraging them to support Bidford and its local businesses through this difficult time.

“We hope that repairs will be carried out as quickly as possible, but in the meantime we want to make it as easy as possible for people to use the High Street and the shops and businesses there,” added Cllr Williams.

There were no further updates this week on the progress on the repairs of Bidford Bridge.

The most recent statement from the county council said: “The bridge will only reopen once it is structurally safe again. The duration of repair work has not been determined yet, as the scale of repairs is unknown. An early estimate for the repair programme indicates three to four months in duration, subject to further inspection, weather and availability of qualified stonemasons and materials.”