Rottingdean business owner relief over removal of planter

Petra Griffiths, the owner of PSG Financial Solutions, said she had to negotiate with the council to get the planter in Rottingdean High Street removed so scaffolding can be put up to make repairs to her store’s signage.

A bus scraped past part of the shopfront in May, also damaging a lamp. While the bus company accepted liability and agreed to pay for repairs, it has taken Petra several months to arrange after the city council initially refused to move the planter.

Scaffolding for the store would jut out into the road due to it being narrow, but the planter would prevent cars from being able to get past.

• READ MORE: This is why a controversial planter has been removed from the high street

Petra said: “I am completely relieved - it has gone on for so long.”

The planter, put in place in 2019 to slow traffic along the High Street and reduce air pollution, has proved controversial with some residents due to the narrow roads in the village and claims that traffic has snaked into other parts of Rottingdean.

Villagers have almost unanimously called for the planter’s permanent removal on social media, claiming that it has caused more harm than good and saying traffic has been flowing much better since it was taken away.

Petra said that putting up scaffolding without removing the planter would make it impossible for cars to get past

Petra echoed this view and said the traffic “seemed to be a lot better” in recent days following its removal.

“I think a lot of the residents would like to see it go permanently, but we’ll have to wait and see,” she said.

However, one resident, Chris Grinsted, proposed a more inventive solution.

“There should be a whole row of them right across the High Street with a magic gizmo that enables them to retract when they sense a car registered to a resident, an emergency service vehicle or a bus,” he said.

• READ MORE: Business owner unable to get repair work done due to controversial 'planter'

Former Rottingdean councillor Lynda Hyde, who has been calling for the planter to be removed permanently, said she hopes “common sense” will prevail and that it won’t be reinstalled.

“People with green interests, who say they would like to see it remain, are out of step with the majority of Rottingdean residents,” she said.

Brighton and Hove Buses has apologised for the “rare incident” and has agreed to pay for repair work.