A PLAN to allow goths to gather in Flowergate over the Gothic Weekend has had to be shelved.
The Whitby Gazette understands that landlords in Flowergate and North Yorkshire County Council had been trying to get parking suspended in Flowergate for the event which begins on 25 April.
The landlords would then have paid for barriers to be ere
cted to keep the road clear.
The Whitby Gazette understands that a complaint by a resident in the area has scuppered the idea.
Rather than the whole of Flowergate being closed the plan was to suspend parking along Flowergate from the beginning of Skinner Street to outside of the Save the Children charity shop.
The plans could be resurrected for the Gothic Weekend in October.
Les Parker, improvement manager at County Highways said the proposed suspension of restrictions would not be going ahead.
He said: "I think it is worth pointing out that the whole of the road would not have been closed.
"As with any plan it had to go out to consultation with businesses and residents in the affected area as the suspension would have an effect on everyone.
"As I understand it there was a problem with the consultation and the practicality of getting it sorted in a short space of time."
He added that the cost of providing traffic management, possibly in the form of barriers, would have fallen on the pubs involved in the closure, the Little Angel and The Elsinore.
Little Angel landlord Tim Darrington, who was one of the pub chiefs trying to get the goths back into Flowergate.
"I'm disappointed it wasn't able to go ahead," he said.
"However, we will be trying to make sure that the plan will be in place for the event in August.
"The Goths bring a lot of trade and millions to the economy so we should be looking to work with them."
Another consideration would have been the issue of people drinking in the street, which is not allowed on the streets of the town.
The Whitby Designated Public Place Order gives police the powers to seize drinks off people who have them outside and even issue fixed penalty notices. This put an end to goths massing in Flowergate at last April's event.
Whitby Chief Inspector Dave Barf confirmed the suspension of the parking restrictions would not be going ahead but would not comment on the reasons behind it.
The full article contains 411 words and appears in Whitby Gazette Tuesday newspaper.
