BUSINESSES in part of central Swindon expect to lose trade following the closure of the popular college car park, at Regent Circus, yesterday.

Swindon Council, which has leased the car park since developer Ashfield Land bought the site, shut the facility to allow demolition of the former Swindon College building to start on April 16.

The £50m leisure development on the site will eventually include a 450-space car park, as well as a Morrisons superstore and Cineworld cinema, but in the meantime the nearest car parks are Princes Street and The Wyvern.

Some businesses are calling on the council and Ashfield Land to make alternative customer parking provision nearby, possibly by allowing free evening parking at the Civic Offices, in Euclid Street, or cheaper parking at The Wyvern.

They are also annoyed because they say they received no personal advance notice of the closure date, except for a road sign which was put up at the site within the last week.

Sadik Ali, the owner of the Khyber Indian restaurant, in Victoria Road, said: “It’s going to have a major effect on our business.

“We cannot tell yet because it’s the first day today, but 80 per cent of my customers that were in here last night parked in the car park.

“We haven’t been given any notice. On Tuesday I went outside and there was a big sign up there saying the car park is closing.

“I think it’s a disgrace, because we pay high business rates.

“It would have been human for someone to come around and say ‘guys, the college is going ahead now so you’ve got to think of alternatives.’” Edoardo Tatangelo, the manager of Fratello’s Italian restaurant, in Victoria Road, said he was in favour of the redevelopment, but the council and developer should provide alternative parking options and should have personally let businesses know of the closure date.

He said: “Forty per cent of our customers use that car park so what’s annoying is they haven’t given us any alternatives for it. Where else are they going to park?

“The local businesses which have been here for years are going to suffer because their customers cannot park.”

Karl Potts, the owner of the Giant Party Shop, in Victoria Road, added: “It will affect trade without a shadow of a doubt. Where they could park up there and pop in, people cannot do that any more.”

A Swindon Council spokesman said: “The council doesn’t own the land on which the car park sits – we lease it from the owners.

“They have said they want to start work to demolish the old college building and clear the site ready for redevelopment, which is clearly good news.

“The work can’t go ahead with cars parked there. We gave a week’s notice to all car park users with prominent signs warning them that it would close.

“We appreciate that the work will reduce car parking while it goes on, but the result will transform that part of the town centre and will benefit everyone in the area.”

North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson said the increased footfall brought with the regeneration would outweigh the short-term frustration for businesses.

James Digby, a director of Ashfield land, said the hoardings would be up within about two weeks to allow demolition to start, adding that the decision to close the car park rested with Swindon Council.