THE owners of a city centre business have launched a petition calling for changes to the People Friendly Streets project, with fears it could lose up to 80 per cent of its business.

As part of the project, Chipper Lane will be blocked off to traffic, other than buses, taxis, Blue Badge holders, and residents accessing their properties. On-street parking will be removed.

Emily and Mark Cooper, who run The Wishing Well Laundrette, say it is "difficult to imagine what benefit pedestrianisation of this side street will achieve".

They added: "Over 200 of our customers have signed a petition urging that Chipper Lane should remain open to traffic.

"I hope there may be a change of heart otherwise this will be a nail in the coffin not only for the Washing Well Launderette but for other small independent businesses throughout the city".

The Wishing Well Laundrette has been run by the Cooper family for three generations, and today employs eight people, and has been in the city for over 50 years.

Emily and Mark said: "Washing dirty laundry may not be glamorous but it is a service valued by many of our customers past and present.

"We hope to continue to operate well in to the future but the pending pedestrianisation of Chipper Lane - the street which is our home - makes this look uncertain."

Wiltshire Council has responded to criticisms of the project, saying it will bring "a positive change" to the city centre, and that it is "an opportunity to do something different".

City councillors have also signed letters for and against the project.

Salisbury Journal:

Emily and Mark say that the first set of proposals published by Wiltshire Council did not include Chipper Lane, but the revised plans do, which only give them two weeks notice of something which will potentially take away "80 per cent" of their revenue.

They said: "We have not received any answers to our questions as to why this change of proposal?

"There are no restaurants in Chipper Lane and apart from ourselves no retail outlets so it is difficult to imagine what benefit pedestrianisation of this side street will achieve."

Members of the public will have the opportunity to comment on the project throughout the 18 months of the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order.