A BUSINESSMAN has expressed concern that 'aggressive and belligerent' parking is affecting his firm.

The man, who asked not to be named, said that measures, introduced to tackle problems with parking outside Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School (QEGS), Blackburn, has moved the traffic chaos further up the road.

The man said the problems centred around West Park Road, Blackburn. He said that school buses are unable to drive up the road due to double parking and now use the his firm's entrance as a makeshift bus stop.

He said said: "Aggressive and belligerent parking has drastically affected the running of my business.

"The parking enforcement implemented at the top of West Park Road has just deferred the chaos to an even more concentrated stretch of the road.

"We have historically felt the pressures of the chaos but not to this magnitude.

"School buses are unable to drive up the road due to double parking and now use our entrance as a makeshift bus stop.

"Drivers block our entrance, resulting in emergency vehicles being unable to access the site to deliver potentially lifesaving emergency treatment."

The concerns came after Blackburn with Darwen Council implemented a safety scheme to improve bus and pedestrian access around QEGS.

The scheme aims to improve road safety and reduce congestion on both West Park Road and Dukes Brow.

A QEGS spokesman said the school was working with its neighbours and the council to try and alleviate the issues.

They said: "The school welcomes the changes made by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council to improve the traffic management systems on West Park Rd and Dukes Brow.

"We recognise that during the first week of its implementation there have been some problems. We will work with our neighbours and Blackburn & Darwen to try and alleviate these issues.

"We are confident that these changes will help improve road safety for all our pupils. We encourage parents who currently drive their children to and from school to consider using the school’s free wait and ride bus scheme - details of which can be found on the school’s website."

Borough regeneration boss Cllr Phil Riley added: "We have made some changes and obviously there are some issues and we'll work to address these."