‘We’re going to lose shops’: Kingston Road traders warn over bus lane

Kingston Road traders have warned they are “very concerned” about their future, claiming a new bus lane is already putting pressure on businesses.

Portsmouth City Council approved a part-time southbound bus lane on Kingston Road in February 2026, between Binsteed Road and Hanway Road.

The bus lane operates from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm, Monday to Friday, after plans for a full-time lane were scaled back following public opposition.

The scheme also removed around 19 parking spaces along Kingston Road. Construction began in July this year and the lane is now fully operational.

Eric Coleborn, who organised a public meeting to discuss local concerns on October 7, said traders along Kingston Road are “very concerned” about the future of their businesses.

He said their “concerns were not listened to” when the decision was made in February.

He said the “most damning” part of the bus lane is the 30 second saving per bus, which equates to six minutes of delays saved per hour.

“Businesses on the road are struggling to survive because people can’t park nearby.”

He said the “bottom line is that we’re going to lose a lot of shops” and that “it’s very difficult trading as it is without the council causing issues”.

A trustee of Age UK, which has a location at 16-18 Kingston Road, said the bus lane has “really affected us as a charity”.

“We’re losing customers, people that are needy that can’t be dropped off outside.”

They added that “bus drivers are being very offensive” and at times abusive to people being dropped off outside the charity centre.

Other businesses also raised concerns about being forced to load and unload from further afield, including A. Webb and Son Florist, which has been trading since 1948.

Facing a crowd of 27 people at Buckland Community Centre, councillor Peter Candlish, who made the decision back in February, said: “I know the biggest, most dangerous thing you can say in Portsmouth is that you’re removing parking spaces.”

He added that, in his role as cabinet member for transport, “half the city hates me, and the other half don’t know me”.

He clarified the context of his decision, noting there are three roads on and off Portsea Island and one train route, with between 30,000 and 40,000 road vehicle journeys on and off the island every day.

He also clarified that around three-quarters of households own at least one car in the city and there “are more and more vehicles pouring in all the time” into a confined island.

“The parking pressure that we thought was bad ten years ago is even worse now and I have bad news for you, the way things are going, it’s going to be even worse in ten years’ time.”

“The council is not against cars, it’s not pro buses, it’s trying to move the most amount of people as easily and quickly as possible.

“Buses in packed-out cities are one of the most effective ways of doing that.”

He said bus priority lanes are the most effective measures for controlling traffic “because they make sure the buses can move all the time”.

He referenced an “old joke” about three buses arriving at bus stops at the same time because traffic was either holding up or pushing on services.

“Now they’re able to be spaced apart and to stay on schedule.”

He clarified that the bus lane “is not for now”, but rather a measure to control traffic in the next five, ten or 15 years.

In closing, he assured the crowd that he would speak to bus operators about the aggression seen from bus drivers and that the effectiveness of the bus lane would be assessed in the future.

If “we discover that it’s been an outright disaster”, it can be changed, he said.