Bakery boss naan too pleased at ban

3:08pm Friday 16th May 2008

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THE boss of a naan bread bakery said his business was being 'crippled' after vehicles were banned from unloading outside his shop.

Kashif Ali, 35, owner of Sheikh's Naan Company, Randal Street, near Whalley Range, Blackburn, takes regular deliveries of two-and-a-half tonne bags of flour.

And he said that one wholesaler had already refused to deliver to his business because of the restrictions.

Instead Mr Ali said he had resorted to taking deliveries late at night when the restrictions are not enforced but that this was not suitable in the long term.

Council bosses said the changes had been brought in back in November in a bid to improve traffic flow and urged Mr Ali to contact them to discuss any concerns.

He said: "We shut in February to have work done on the building and when we had our last delivery of flour around that time the wholesaler refused to park outside because they could have been fined.

"We have two-and-a-half tonnes of flour delivered at a time to make the naans, but it comes in 25kilo bags. Delivery worker can't park somewhere else and carry them down because they are to heavy.

"We've managed to get another order in, but it was dropped off late at night and we can't go on like that.

"What the council has done is ridiculous because we can't make our bread if we don't have the flour."

Sheikh's Naan Company has traded as a wholesaler in the area for 12-years and Mr Ali claims delivery drivers have been left with little alternative in terms of where to park.

He added: "They can't park on the side streets because it's too far to walk. People can't physically carry that much weight over a long distance."

Blackburn with Darwen Council bosses said there was a pay and display area on the opposite side of the street which could be used by delivery drivers if they needed somewhere to park.

And bosses said the no loading restrictions were vital avoid traffic jams on the one way system in the area.

Coun Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration, said "The Whalley Range scheme restrictions were implemented a number of months ago, however the council is always pleased to receive feedback from businesses and users of the area to allow the fine balance of traffic movement and convenience to be met.

"If the owner of the business wishes to contact the council we will consider if any adjustments can be made to the scheme to alleviate his situation."