Florist ordered to remove blooms from Ludlow pavement
A florist has been banned from displaying flowers outside her shop in a row over disabled access on a quaint town street.
Shropshire Council highways chiefs have ordered Karen Preece, who runs Lavender Blue in Market Street, Ludlow, to keep her flowers inside the shop from now on.
It comes after the authority received two complaints from residents who claimed wheelchairs could not get past on the pavement while the flowers were outside.
But Mrs Preece has labelled the ruling 'crazy' as the pavement is too narrow for wheelchairs to pass anyway – and claims most people walk on the road as it is so rarely used by traffic.
She has gathered a petition signed by more than 50 customers and is calling on the council to reverse the decision, claiming it is affecting her business and could put at risk the jobs of her four members of staff.
Mrs Preece said: "I can't understand it and neither can my customers. There is a street lighting box which juts out before our shop which also causes an obstruction, but nothing is being done about that."
Mrs Preece, who relocated to Market Street from Broad Street a couple of months ago, said it was affecting her business. "Obviously I can't buy as much stock now. Having flowers outside attracts people in and our business is down. We have four members of staff here and if it affects our business then it starts to affect them too."
Customer John Diamond is backing her bid to get the ban overturned. Mr Diamond, who lives in nearby Mill Street, said: "This street is really a service road with no through traffic. This road has always been pedestrianised by nature of its width, the footpaths are narrow and there is no through traffic. In my 14 years as a resident I have never seen a wheelchair or pushchair ever use the footpath, always the road."
Chris Fisher, highways manager for Shropshire Council, said he had received a complaint from a customer stating they could not walk on the footpath outside the florist. "I politely asked her to remove them," he added.
"Although this street is little used by traffic, it is still used."
This morning, former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips reacted to the story after seeing it on the Shropshire Star's Twitter account, describing the decision as "shocking."
