Florist lukewarm at town pedestrianisation plan

Sarah Horne, who runs a florist in Leamington, said she was not sure pedestrianisation was the right move for the high street

People behind plans to potentially pedestrianise part of a spa town have been urged by one business owner to "make sure we're not changing something that doesn't need changing".

An eight-week consultation started earlier this month on the proposals for the Parade in Leamington Spa from the Leamington Transformation Board, which said it could make it an "incredible space".

Sarah Horne, who owns Sarah Horne Flowers on Warwick Street and lives above her shop, said she was not convinced the idea was necessary.

"What we have now is so beautiful, it's one of the most beautiful town centres in the country," she said.

"I just want to make sure we're not changing something that doesn't need changing.

"We have a very wide Parade at the moment so I'm not feeling it's an absolute necessity to do this.

"But I would like to look at the plans very carefully to keep abreast of it."

The plans aim to take traffic away from the Parade in Leamington in order to bring in more businesses and visitors

The board, made up of representatives from local authorities, claim the proposals will give the town a "major economic and cultural boost".

Their vision is to take away traffic thus attracting more visitors and businesses into the high street, such as new restaurants and bars.

Extra trees, seating and cycle paths would all be part of the new-look Parade.

An eight-week consultation exercise on plans to transform the Parade is open until 28 July

Mark Lee, Independent Chair of the Leamington Transformation Board, said: "We believe that there is huge potential to transform the Parade into an incredible space."

He added they felt the move would help the high street "be better than ever before".

Also in the plans, buses that currently stop at the top of the Parade would be re-routed to other stops nearby.

Delivery vehicles would be permitted limited access during times of lower footfall and emergency vehicles would still be able to access the road.

The consultation runs until 28 July.