AMBITIOUS plans to refurbish “Bournemouth’s Bond Street” could be scuppered if traders refuse to accept a reduction in parking spaces, it has been claimed.

Bournemouth council has drawn up designs to improve Westover Road, which include widening pavements, allowing people to turn right out of the Pavilion and creating a public open space on the corner with Bath Hill.

But the plans also include the loss of some on-street car parking spaces, which has sparked concern among business owners.

Cllr Mike Greene, right, town centre councillor, said: “Understandably the traders want to make sure there’s sufficient traffic going past their shops.

“But we have got to weigh that up against the fact that this scheme is designed to boost the appeal of Westover Road and make it a place that people want to come to and linger.

“We want to get that Westover Road feeling of 30 or 40 years ago back. I’m not sure that’s possible with so much traffic and so many parking spaces.

“I would also say that there’s obviously a limited amount of money to go round and a number of different schemes potentially available around the town centre.

“If, collectively, we don’t feel that Westover Road is going to benefit greatly from this amount of money, it might go elsewhere.

“I wouldn’t be in favour of watering the scheme down too much, it’s all or nothing I think.” But Jeff Franses, of J Franses and Son Jewellers, said: “We don’t want to lose the on-street parking because parking is precious in Bournemouth, it’s diminishing, it’s expensive.

“On-street parking in Westover Road is our lifeline in keeping the area busy and vibrant.”

He added that the proposal to allow motorists to create a turnaround area in the Pavilion would deter people from driving down Westover Road.

“I’m sure the council is listening to our concerns and will see if we can reach a happy compromise,” he said.