Calls for the council to try & do more to save struggling businesses on Hartlepool's Navigation Point, as some claim not even the arrival of the Tall Ships Event in June will be enough to prevent some businesses in the area from going under.
Monday 9th Jan 2023 11:41am
Edited 9th Jan 16:54pm
Theres fresh calls for the council to step in and negotiate more favourable parking terms in a once popular part of the town after the recent announcement that a local business established in the area for some 22 years announced it was to close to seek alternative premises elsewhere.
Spices Bar & restaurant has served customers in the town for the last 22 years...
Spices Indian restaurant has been a popular attraction for many of the towns food lovers & built up an enviable customer following, however claims the cost of living crisis, compounded with the controversial parking fees in the areas Navigation Point & the cost of wholesale stock was pushing the restaurant to the brink, with its owners left facing no other alternative but to close down their establishment & look for other alternative premises.
In a social media post published just days ago, the restaurant said :....
It's with a heavy heart we need to announce that after 22 years we decided to close our doors for the last time this past new years day
Due to the costs continually rising of pretty much everything we have exhausted every option available for us to stay open and keep the price reasonable for our customers and it's just impossible now coupled with the car park being extortionate and rising every year with no assistance from the council regarding this
We want to thank all of our loyal customers that have dined with us all of these years, new and old!
Moving forward we are hoping to relocate and reopen in the near future and hope to see you all return.
Thanks again everyone we really wouldn't have had a 22 year run in our old location without you all.
Keep an eye out for our new location, we will return with a bang in the near future….
Navigation Points controversial car parking fees are turning customers away from the area.
Its one of nearly a dozen businesses in the last decade that’s tried to survive over the areas Navigation Point at Hartlepool’s Marina where its claimed controversial parking fees introduces have seen footfall in the are drop drastically resulting in a number of firms going bust as the drop in customer numbers sees many small business owners plunged into the red, which in turn then led to a number of businesses going bust.
In a bid to assist local businesses in the area, Hartlepool Borough Council some three years ago pondered over the decision to buy the Navigation Point car park from its then owners believed to have been Mandale Properties, however its claimed landlords for the site then suddenly backed out of a proposed deal, following claims the council offered an amount far short of what the landlords wanted for the sale of the land.
The parking fees were increased leading to anger by many business owners in the area
The proposals by the local council would have led to the parking meters being retained, but charging fees far less than the current landlord of the site was asking, with a number of newspapers previously reporting that a number of drivers had fallen foul to the areas controversial parking charges which seen a number of drivers fined, & even some Taxi drivers outright refusing to enter the Navigation Point area to pick up customers due to the risk of being fined by the areas Automatic Numberplate Camera that scans the plates of vehicles entering & leaving the area.
Not even the Tall Ships Event in the summer will save us, one business owner said !
One business owner who contacted Hartlepool Matters said that they were “genuinely fearful” that should nothing be done soon, not even the Tall Ships event set to arrive in June 2023 will allow businesses in the area to keep their heads above water, leading to yet more establishments either having to relocate or will subsequently go bust, as the decline in customer footfall leads to businesses left having to close their doors or incur significant debts, as neither the council nor the landlords of the car park seemingly can find a way forward in the long bitter conflict, with many saying its only a matter of time before Navigation Point is completely emptied of businesses, as the costs to survive in the area are just simply “too much” to incur with the current pressures shouldered by business owners.
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