Cafe owners in Wolverhampton will have to wait to take the city council to court over claims road closures lost them half their trade at the busiest time of the year.
A county court judge has decided that more time will be needed to determine whether Madame Clarkes in King Street lost £827 during the run-up to Christmas because Wolverhampton City Council closed the road to make way for last year’s festive market.
Owners Mike and Alexandra Perkins say the closures gave passers-by the impression that they would not be able to get down the road on foot.
The couple brought their claim before a judge at Wolverhampton County Court yesterday.
The hearing was adjourned to a date to be fixed because deputy district judge Julia Holden ruled it could not be dealt with in one two-hour sitting.
Mr Perkins, who has run the cafe for the last five years, said his legal battle came because Wolverhampton City Council had hurt small traders with its policies.
“This particular case has been brought because the council closed off King Street and did nothing to let pedestrians know that they could still get to us,” he said today.
“It was only after we complained that they put up two small paper signs saying pedestrian access was open, but these were dwarfed in comparison to the big signs that said King Street was closed.
“The run up to Christmas is meant to be our busiest time of year and it helps us make enough to get through a seasonally quiet period during January and February. We are not Starbucks and we need to be better supported by the council.”
Mr Perkins said the whole point of the Christmas market was to bring more people into Wolverhampton, but that it “drove people away” from his cafe. He also complained about plans to increase charges for putting out tables and chairs, revealed in the Express & Star this week.
“Under another new council policy we are about to be charged £750 to put chairs and tables out, instead of the current £250 so we are being hit from all sides,” he added.
Council spokeswoman Julia Corrigan said: “It is inappropriate to comment at this stage as the matter is subject to legal proceedings.”
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