THE strongest voice for Bewdley traders who fears the effects of a disruptive flood project is to quit the town - claiming the work has made running a business an uphill struggle.

Colin Billingham, spokesman for the Bewdley Chamber of Trade, said he saw little point in keeping open his Load Street shop, The Emporium, in the face of parking headaches caused by the barrier project.

The 60-year-old had long warned that shops would suffer if the 100-plus spaces taken up by the work, on Severnside South, were not found in time for the busy summer season.

He said the final straw came after a Wyre Forest District Council think-tank said landowners needed to come forward with places for parking - just months before the tourist season got into full swing.

"Just to say they are going to investigate extra land is rather pathetic and just basically an excuse," he added.

"I have been thinking about going for three years but it has come to a head this year. It is just getting silly. We have had two bank holidays with people coming into Bewdley and not being able to park and going straight out. I am not prepared to wait five years for it to get back to where it was."

Mr Billingham - who has run the shop selling books, records and furniture for 15 years - voiced concerns during the first part of the Environment Agency's flood defence project, on Severnside North.

The work on neighbouring Severnside South began last month, closing Gardners Meadow - the town's second major car park - and removing around 40 free spaces along the street.

Mr Billingham said he could not face another two years of disruption.

He is the second trader to quit the town in a month. John Instance told the Shuttle/Times and News he was closing The Old Bank Craft Studio in Severnside South because of the effects of the project. Yet Mr Billingham, who will retire to Wales, said Bewdley would survive - but not as the tourist mecca it once was.

He explained: "It is the end of the tourist era for Bewdley, for visitors coming from the Black Country and Birmingham. Tourist-orientated shops will probably go into decline. They won't survive. The nature of the town is changing."

The district council's overview and scrutiny committee for environment and development said landowners should come forward to find extra parking spaces. Councillors also voted to make parking in the town free after 4pm last month.