A builder from Sparkhill East Birmingham is obstructing the road outside his business with sandbags to stop drivers from parking outside amongst a £500,000 access row. Saghir Hussain stops drivers from parking outside Sparkhill firm and tells anyone who complains to speak to the council.
Saghir Hussain said he had been forced to take desperate action to ensure access to his firm, Rashid Brothers Builders in Shakespeare Street, Sparkhill.
He said his pleas for double yellow lines to solve the problem had been denied by Birmingham City Council, which he requested asked him to pay up to £15,000.
And he said he had lost £500,000-a-year contracts as suppliers could not get trucks in and out because of parked cars.
The 39-year-old dad-of-three, who started working at the yard when he was a teenager, said: “How long can we go on like this? We have to run a business.
“We just want double yellows. We do not want to upset the community – we want to live in harmony.”
Saghir said the firm – which employs ten workers and has been trading for 32 years – had lost business after several companies closed accounts, citing “health and safety” concerns.
He said the problems started three or four years ago when Stratford Road was made into a red route – banning parking and loading and unloading.
Double yellow lines were painted on Warwick Road and nearby St John’s car park was changed into a pay-and-display facility.
He said: “We can’t get articulated trucks in and out of our yard.
“Our main supplier has refused to come in because their trucks can’t get in or out and they closed their accounts for health and safety reasons. We’ve lost half a million pounds every year.”
He added: “We put out sandbags when necessary. People generally walk up the road asking: ‘What’s this, where can we park our cars?’
“We say: ‘Speak to the council’.”
He said: “I asked them (the council) about double yellows and they said they had no funding and could I provide £10,000 to £15,000 to put them down.”
Now, despite a visit from the council, he is leaving two sandbags on the junction of Bard Street and Shakespeare Street, saying he had “no choice”.
A Birmingham City Council spokesman said: “Where obstructions placed in the road are reported to the city council we will take action to remove them, recognising the balance that needs to be struck in servicing businesses and the need for on-street parking in areas where there is a mix of business and residential activity.
“With regard to providing double yellow lines the process can be costly, takes time and is open to objections from those who would not wish to see the road space restricted.
“With the limited funding available to the council, we prioritise that funding to address known safety issues as our first priority.
“Given that position, currently there would be no funding available to implement the requested restrictions.”
