Miele’s Gelateria: ‘Highland Council we beg you please don't kill us now’ over Academy Street
Hugely popular Miele’s Gelateria issues a desperate plea to Highland Council to halt plans that would “ultimately mean closure”, writing online – “we beg you please don't kill us now.”
Miele’s appealed over Facebook to their customer base to take part in Highland Council’s online consultation process to help halt the changes to traffic in the city centre they say would “ultimately mean closure.”
The local authority wants to slash traffic through the city centre by 75 per cent in order to qualify for millions of pounds of investment from Sustrans, the active travel charity that is administering the Scottish Government funding.
To do that the council wants to make it impossible to travel from one end of Academy Street to the other, instead diverting traffic through Strothers Lane – something that poses a problem for Miele’s on Church Street.
The post stated: “The only way out of Church Street will be down Post Office avenue if you're a customer and you won't be able to drive down Academy Street from the Milburn end of town to get to us.
“We all agree Academy Street needs a refurb and traffic could be curbed a bit, and want more eco-friendly ways of travelling to town, however this motion from the Highland Council being pushed through with no if's or buts is going to make it near impossible to get to us”
Miele’s said that it would be “ludicrous” to expect local businesses to survive the changes and it is the last thing that is needed now amid the “Covid aftermath, produce price hikes, energy crisis, cost of living crisis to name a few hurdles.
“The council proposal is to make the journey into town so awful and long winded. We know we shall lose so many customers who don't have the time but want to visit they will go to the more accessible retail park, to the massive national chain retailers.
“That means job losses, not just with our company but all the companies around who rely on those customers to pay the wages. That means ‘For Let’ signs above many many doors in our town centre.
“We as businesses are getting zero compensation or rates relief and have been told we just have to take the risk ‘oh well it may or may not work’ (we've a long list of council changes that didn't work, one way system at the Castle 2021 springs to mind).
“We were also told by a council worker and representative who is pro change: ‘Does anyone actually drive down Academy Street to go to Miele's? It won't affect you, people don't go to just see you, High Streets are changing, get with the times.’
“We, like many others, chose to put our business where it is because people pass by. We've worked so hard to help bring our end of Church Street to life. Highland Council we beg you please don't kill us now.”
