TRADERS claim they will lose up to 70 per cent of their income if much of Bicester’s Market Square becomes a pedestrians-only zone.

Shopowners said the staging of a fair and the creation of a construction base in the Crown Walk car park last week would mimic the parking situation under pedestrianisation, so they recorded their customer numbers and income to try to assess the likely impact on their businesses.

A joint £1m plan drawn up by Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council to transform the Square would pedestrianise the north side, with two-way traffic using the south side, and remove most of the car parking spaces.

The traders said the survey completed by 30 shops in the Square and part of Crown Walk showed the potential damage to business was catastrophic.

All but three reported the number of customers down by between 20 and 80 per cent, and all but six said takings dropped between 20 and 70 per cent compared with the previous week.

Lynn Wright, of Bicester Bed Centre, who has been campaigning to retain car parking and the current one-way traffic system, said the figures spoke for themselves.

She said: “Our survey proved taking parking from Crown Walk and Market Square had a devastating effect on businesses.

“This was just a few days. Imagine if it was permanent. It changed the square into a ghost area.”

In the survey, traders compared footfall and takings with the past few weeks.

Sally Purdie, owner of Shire Mobility, in Crown Walk, said she suffered an 80 per cent drop in customers.

She said: “It was a nightmare. With the Square car park closed and the disabled parking taken away in Crown Walk, I had customers calling up saying ‘I can’t get to you’.

“It was very disruptive for us, because we need parking close by, because of the nature of our business.

“It was a taste of what could happen and caused great problems for us.”

All cafes, restaurants, and takeaways reported a drop in takings and footfall of between 20 and 40 per cent.

Shakur Ali, of Bangladeshi restaurant Jaflong, said: “Comparing last weekend and the weekend before, there was a lot of difference in trade.

“We lost trade over the weekend because people couldn’t park outside.”

Keith Wadley, of electrical store Wadley’s, supports improvements to the Square, but opposes pedestrianisation. He said: “We’re now in possession of a couple of sets of figures, the petition and survey, and we can show that not having use of the Square car park we do lose footfall.”

Ben Jackson, the chairman of Bicester Chamber of Commerce, said he believed the noise from the fair may also have been a factor in putting off evening diners at restaurants.

He said: “The traders’ indicative figures, while not based on a scenario identical to the proposed alterations, reinforce that any change needs to be carefully considered.”

County council spokesman Owen Morton said: “We will be happy to receive and consider these findings.”

A petition against the councils’ proposals, launched by the traders six weeks ago, has attracted more than 4,500 signatures.