We visit the Bristol shopping street split in two by the Clean Air Zone and ask traders how business is

By Adriana Amor

Published 25th Jan 2024, 14:14 BST

There was a mixed picture from the people we spoke to

One of Bristol’s earliest examples of uniformly stepped hillside terracing, Park Street is home to a wide range of shops, bars, cafes, clubs and restaurants - as well as some of the city’s oldest buildings and a world-famous Banksy piece.

But to what extent has the ongoing economic situation and cost of living impacted traders at Park Street? And what about the Clean Air Zone, which literally cuts across the middle of Park Street.

We talked to nine traders to see how business is and what the impacts of the Clean Air Zone, the cost of living crisis and high energy bills have been. Here’s what we found:

Dylan, the manager, said sales had been quite low compared to the previous Christmas. “I think people much prefer online shopping because they can return items and I don’t believe in that because that just adds more footprint and it’s going to affect a lot of businesses as well. People don’t know what suits them, what they like anymore and it’s very much they want something a little bit easier. They don’t want to think too hard. That’s why online shopping is always a plus for a lot of people. We don’t do returns or refunds just because we want people to shop sustainably and stop the processing of these items. I think on Park Street the Cean Air Zone has definitely affected our footfall. It’s decreased by about 15% and that is actually a big impact on a lot of businesses.”

1. The Vintage Thrift Shop

Dylan, the manager, said sales had been quite low compared to the previous Christmas. “I think people much prefer online shopping because they can return items and I don’t believe in that because that just adds more footprint and it’s going to affect a lot of businesses as well. People don’t know what suits them, what they like anymore and it’s very much they want something a little bit easier. They don’t want to think too hard. That’s why online shopping is always a plus for a lot of people. We don’t do returns or refunds just because we want people to shop sustainably and stop the processing of these items. I think on Park Street the Cean Air Zone has definitely affected our footfall. It’s decreased by about 15% and that is actually a big impact on a lot of businesses.” | adriana amor

Anna Naylor, Head of Operations at the Bristol Folk House said: “We have two arms to the charity - the adult education side with its courses and workshops, and the trading arm which is the cafe. I believe that the cafe actually had the best November and December on record, however, although the sales were higher than they had ever been, our costs also increased quite substantially, so sort of the outcome of that is not as positive as it first looked on paper. And that’s been the case for quite a long time now, especially the last year or two. Our supply has gone up, staffing has gone up, increasing exponentially. On the courses and workshops side, we saw a small increase in sales, which is still really positive. We would never really see a huge jump because we're sort of at the sort of capacity of what we can offer now in terms of like, we have as much going on in the space that we have available, so you know, even a small percentage increase is actually quite a positive thing. So overall I’d say it's quite positive, but costs are the biggest issue for now. As for the Clean Air Zone, I think that one’s a little bit trickier to monitor. We don’t really have public car parking here, so I think a lot of our students and visitors come by public transport or by bike anyway. It has affected some of our tutors and has affected whether they can continue teaching or not because they're driving older cars or diesel cars and then there’s a whole added expense just for them to come in, especially if they were just teaching for two hours, it's not really worth it for them. So we have lost some tutors because of this or we’ve had to pass that cost on to the students, and increase the price slightly so that we can cover their ULEZ costs to make it worthwhile for them to come in. So that way it's impacted us but I don't think it's impacted our bookings or our revenue.”

2. Bristol Folk House

Anna Naylor, Head of Operations at the Bristol Folk House said: “We have two arms to the charity - the adult education side with its courses and workshops, and the trading arm which is the cafe. I believe that the cafe actually had the best November and December on record, however, although the sales were higher than they had ever been, our costs also increased quite substantially, so sort of the outcome of that is not as positive as it first looked on paper. And that’s been the case for quite a long time now, especially the last year or two. Our supply has gone up, staffing has gone up, increasing exponentially. On the courses and workshops side, we saw a small increase in sales, which is still really positive. We would never really see a huge jump because we're sort of at the sort of capacity of what we can offer now in terms of like, we have as much going on in the space that we have available, so you know, even a small percentage increase is actually quite a positive thing. So overall I’d say it's quite positive, but costs are the biggest issue for now. As for the Clean Air Zone, I think that one’s a little bit trickier to monitor. We don’t really have public car parking here, so I think a lot of our students and visitors come by public transport or by bike anyway. It has affected some of our tutors and has affected whether they can continue teaching or not because they're driving older cars or diesel cars and then there’s a whole added expense just for them to come in, especially if they were just teaching for two hours, it's not really worth it for them. So we have lost some tutors because of this or we’ve had to pass that cost on to the students, and increase the price slightly so that we can cover their ULEZ costs to make it worthwhile for them to come in. So that way it's impacted us but I don't think it's impacted our bookings or our revenue.” | adriana amor

Theo, Coffee Under Pressure’s cafe manager, said: “We have some weeks where it’s just like tumbleweeds down Park Street, but when students are back and when people are visiting, we get a lot of customers, so it’s good but I’d say maybe marginally quieter than last year. I don't know if people are trying to spend a little bit less money. Obviously Park Street is a big shopping destination but I feel like maybe people are trying to save money or they’re trying to do shopping online. Which is obviously a bit of a shame, we want to keep the high street going. Traffic on Park Street still seems quite high. I'm not sure how much the Clean Air Zone is a deterrent. I drive myself, but I don’t drive into town. Not because I have to pay for the zone, I’ve got a small car so it's okay, but it’s more about the parking. I think the council overall are trying to make it a lot less attractive for people to drive into town, for commuters, students, or people who work in the area. I think they’re really trying to decrease it. Parking around here costs an arm and a leg. It is so expensive. That’s why I don’t drive. It’s not that there’s no parking, it's just I can’t afford it. So I think they're trying to make a big push for people to cycle and take the scooters and the buses. But the CAZ hasn’t really affected us, hugely, since it’s come in. I think Park Street is just such a main street that it’s not really going to affect us that much. Or it hasn’t so far.”

3. Coffee Under Pressure

Theo, Coffee Under Pressure’s cafe manager, said: “We have some weeks where it’s just like tumbleweeds down Park Street, but when students are back and when people are visiting, we get a lot of customers, so it’s good but I’d say maybe marginally quieter than last year. I don't know if people are trying to spend a little bit less money. Obviously Park Street is a big shopping destination but I feel like maybe people are trying to save money or they’re trying to do shopping online. Which is obviously a bit of a shame, we want to keep the high street going. Traffic on Park Street still seems quite high. I'm not sure how much the Clean Air Zone is a deterrent. I drive myself, but I don’t drive into town. Not because I have to pay for the zone, I’ve got a small car so it's okay, but it’s more about the parking. I think the council overall are trying to make it a lot less attractive for people to drive into town, for commuters, students, or people who work in the area. I think they’re really trying to decrease it. Parking around here costs an arm and a leg. It is so expensive. That’s why I don’t drive. It’s not that there’s no parking, it's just I can’t afford it. So I think they're trying to make a big push for people to cycle and take the scooters and the buses. But the CAZ hasn’t really affected us, hugely, since it’s come in. I think Park Street is just such a main street that it’s not really going to affect us that much. Or it hasn’t so far.” | adriana amor

At Diana Porter, the jewellery store manager, Laura Sims, said. “We were really busy at Christmas and in January we’ve actually had a busy week this week, so it’s been really good. I would say we’ve had a really good year, so it’s either been very similar or a little bit better than last year. I think with our kind of business because we sell wedding engagement rings, people are still getting married, so I don’t think [the cost of living crisis has] affected us as much as some other companies.”

4. Diana Porter

At Diana Porter, the jewellery store manager, Laura Sims, said. “We were really busy at Christmas and in January we’ve actually had a busy week this week, so it’s been really good. I would say we’ve had a really good year, so it’s either been very similar or a little bit better than last year. I think with our kind of business because we sell wedding engagement rings, people are still getting married, so I don’t think [the cost of living crisis has] affected us as much as some other companies.” | adriana amor

Clean Air Zone Bristol Cost of living Traders Shopping

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