Angry shopkeeper Barry Seymour claims his takings are down £2,000 a week because Kirklees Council has made a complete hash of a lay-by scheme he asked for outside his premises.

Mr Seymour, manager of the Londis supermarket in Knowler Hill, Littletown, Liversedge, claims some of his customers have given up trying to get to the shop because parking problems are worse than than before.

He was delighted when he won a four-year fight to get parking bays placed outside his premises and on land opposite to ease parking problems and prevent bottlenecks and accidents at the bottom of Knowler Hill.

But he says his joy has now turned to misery because the supposed improvements have made things worse not better.

He said: "The Council has made a complete hash of the scheme. Everybody coming into the shop has said it is a waste of taxpayers' money because it is so badly designed.

"We were led to believe four parking spaces would be created on each side of the road but there are only two outside my shop and barely enough room for two on the other side.

"It means there is even less space now to park outside the shop and cars and wagons still can't get past when vehicles are parked on both sides of the road.

"All the Council has done is widen the footpath outside the shop to create a big sloping area with two parking bays next to it in the road, instead of turning the slope into off-road parking which is what we wanted.

"I've lost £2,000 a week in takings so far because some customers are just driving past as they can't park outside. It's worse than before. It would have been better if the Council had left the site as it was."

Butcher Ian Jackson, who has a shop next door and also campaigned for the lay-bys, said: "The scheme is neither use nor ornament."

Council highways engineer Richard Morris said: "I was under the impression the plan of the scheme had been shown to the shopkeepers and they had agreed with it before work started.

"But I will make arrangements for an officer to speak to the shopkeepers to see if we can sort out their concerns."

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