Derby could suffer a huge drop in footfall when Primark moves its current store, Hackney cab drivers have warned, as they fear it could severely hit their trade.
Several months ago, it was announced that the clothing retailer would be moving its Derby store from the Cornmarket to the Derbion shopping centre.
The move is expected to be completed sometime next year.
It was a move that Derbion’s managing director, Beth McDonald, hailed as a “major and exciting milestone” in November last year.
However, just a short walk away from the existing Cornmarket store is a taxi rank on Victoria Street. This is near where the Condor apartments are, once the site of a huge Debenhams store.
Two Derby Hackney taxi drivers, who have been doing the job for decades, have raised concerns that the taxi trade could be dealt another blow by the imminent loss of Primark.
Hackney cabs are licensed and regulated by Derby City Council. They can stop and pick up passengers from taxi ranks and can be flagged down in the street, unlike private hire vehicles, which usually have to be pre-booked.
The Hackney drivers claim they are already struggling for business due to the rise in demand for Uber vehicles. Hackney drivers can sign up with Uber, but only in major cities such as London, it is reported.
Fazal Hussain, a Derby taxi driver for more than 20 years, said he was worried about the potential impact of Primark’s move.
He said: “I think there will be fewer people coming down Victoria Street. It will be a real shame.
“It shouldn’t be moving – it is a big store and should stay outside. The small shops and us taxi drivers will struggle here in the future because there will be fewer people.
“It’s been quiet [on Victoria Street] since Debenhams left. Now, with Primark going, it will be even quieter. When Debenhams was here, we would just pick up and go.”
Fellow Hackney cab driver Mario Colella asked: “Where’s the footfall? They are building all these flats and they say it’s going to improve the economy. These new flats haven’t.”
Mr Hussain said he had only picked up one customer in the city centre in the space of two and a half hours on Wednesday morning.
Derby City Council says its £200 million Becketwell regeneration scheme, which includes the 259 Condor rental apartments, will “drive renewed confidence in Derby as a place and make a significant contribution to the cultural life and vibrancy of the city”.
Primark opened its first-ever Great Britain store in Babington Lane, Derby, in 1974. It has since relocated twice, first to the former Eagle Centre and then to Cornmarket in 2008.
By Nigel Slater, Local Democracy Reporter.