BUSINESS owners in a street set to undergo a £160million regeneration plan have hit out at the council for not listening to their concerns.

The plans for the Marlowe Road Estate near Wood Street in Walthamstow include 430 new homes and the demolition of Wood Street Plaza and the playground.

Waltham Forest Council has closed the car park behind the plaza leaving workers with nowhere to park near their stores to deliver goods.

Lesley Gooch, owner of Pets Corner in Wood Street, says she will be forced to close because the council have refused to provide her with a parking permit.

She said: “Our suppliers cannot deliver to us anymore because there is no parking so we have to bring the deliveries here ourselves.

“If we use a carpark down the street it is too far to transport the animals to the shop.

“The council offered us a parking space for £400 per year but we can’t afford it. It is distressing because we don’t have any help at all from the council.

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“I am beyond upset because we are struggling at the moment so I have got no option to close down

“I honestly feel so victimised.”

Ms Gooch’s shop has been in Wood Street since the 1940s and was passed down to her from her husband’s grandfather.

George Protopapas, who works at Pets Corner, said: “We have asked the council to come in and discuss this with us but they refuse every time.

“If I get a call for a delivery of 150 fish in a tank it is over 20 kilos and I cannot park near the shop to bring it in so what will we do?

“The council haven’t listened to any of the shopkeepers or any of the people who live here and for them it is all about building as many flats as they can.”

Ibrahim Mahmut has run Nevins Hair Stylists in Wood Street Plaza for 37 years.

The shop will be demolished to make way for flats and the council have offered Mr Mahmut another building for his salon.

Mr Mahmut said: “We are all upset because this business is our bread and butter.

“The council don’t care about the small businesses and I think it is disgusting and we are all angry.

“They offered me another building but it is damp and it would cost me too much to refurbish and they won’t help me.

“It is heartbreaking but what can we do? I have got no say.”

Aman Sadana owns the Post Office in Wood Street Plaza which will be relocated to the site of the Co-op as part of the plans.

He said although the council have offered him parking spaces for staff, they could have done things better.

He said: “The council are closing the car park behind us but work will not begin on it for months so I think it is unfair.

“They have proposed parking permits for our staff but they just could have done things in a better way.

“There will be less parking available so they should extend the 15 minutes free parking on Wood Street to 30 minutes because this would give customers more time.”

A spokesman for the council said: “Waltham Forest Council has carried out extensive consultation and information sharing with residents and businesses affected by the Marlowe Road redevelopment project.

“The Council informed residents and businesses during early consultations of the intension to close the car park as part of the redevelopment proposal.

“We are still in the process of finalising negotiations with local businesses and the issue of parking will be an integral part of this.

“Businesses can apply for business parking permits which enable them to park within Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ).

“The closest CPZ to the car parks within the Marlowe Road Estate is the Wood Street North CPZ which covers Wood Street and neighbouring streets.