Traders fear for Holywell High Street's future

Holywell High Street had been traffic-free for 25 years until the recent trial

Traders have said several businesses face imminent closure unless a shopping street is reopened to traffic.

Holywell High Street was pedestrianised in 1992, but a six-month trial allowing traffic in 2018 to see if it boosted trade was deemed a success.

Flintshire council and the town council want the road open to traffic, but neither has the £800,000 to make it so.

Simon Nicholls, owner of Kassidy's Tea Room, said his business had dropped by 40% since the end of the trial.

"I know five shops that are considering closing because they can't afford to stay open. They're not taking enough money, whereas while the trial period was on, they were doing well," he added.

"It's like a cancer. Once it starts, it grows and I can't see the High Street thriving unless they do something, which means businesses are going to close."

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Russ Warburton said "a good 60/70" of the 98 businesses on the High Street were in trouble

Russ Warburton, owner of Ideal Lighting, said the street was "like a ghost town" sometimes - and he recently only took £2.74 in a day, his worst day in 14 years of trading.

"I won't be in businesses if the trend carries on like it is. I won't be the only one. There will be a lot of other businesses that will close as well," he said.

Carolyn Thomas, cabinet member for Streetscene at Flintshire council, said: "I have absolute sympathy for them [the traders].

"We are currently writing to the Welsh Government and if we can get a guarantee from them that they will give us funding to permanently open the road - if we can just have that in principle - we can then get another temporary traffic order in place and get the road open again for them, and improve the vibrancy of the town."

A Welsh Government spokesman said the council's funding proposals would be considered by the regional partnership that oversees regeneration investment for north Wales.