TRADERS are uniting against commuters who park in front of their shops all day who they say are costing them valuable business.
The shop owners in New Broadway, Hillingdon, a short distance from Hillingdon tube station, say they have been complaining to Hillingdon Council about the problem for over a year, and wish to get parking restrictions put in place to curb the issue.
Oruc Gocluer, 28, who works at Cafe Delight, said: "Nothing is going right with the council, there was a time I was down there every day complaining and still they've done nothing.
"There is free parking outside my shop and people just park here all day to go on the underground.
"Cars have been left there for weeks at a time."
Customers in his cafe who have been forced to park elsewhere because there is no room outside his shop have found themselves issued with tickets as they have parked in nearby roads with restrictions they are unfamiliar with.
"When my customers come they get tickets and so they don't come back and our trade goes down.
"All the shopkeepers here feel the same, I've been trying to sort this out for one and a half years now.
"You can bet if you are one day late with your council tax somebody will be down here for it."
Hillingdon Council insisted it was aware of the parking problems and it was open to finding a solution to assist the shopkeepers.
Philomena Bach, director of environment and consumer protection, said: "We have received a petition from businesses in New Broadway, Hillingdon to introduce a controlled parking scheme in the road and a report will be presented to the cabinet member in March.
"The petitioners will also be invited to discuss their parking problems with the cabinet member and if necessary, we will carry out a consultation with residents and businesses in the area to establish support before a decision is made on whether to introduce a scheme."
