TOP councillors and council officers will meet worried London Road traders on Monday to discuss the controversial traffic management scheme.

Traders claim the scheme has hit business and that improvements could be made now. Brighton and Hove councillors will ask them to wait until the project is finished in June before making a final judgment. In the meantime it will do all that it can to meet the traders' concerns. Deputy council leader and local Labour councillor Lynette Gwyn-Jones said: "At the moment the scheme is not fully operational. It is due to be finished in June and until then we are asking for traders to be patient. "We are sympathetic to their needs. We will do all we can to ensure that routes are signed and that there is clearer direction to car parks." Council leader Lord Bassam said: "Before the scheme started London Road was full of traffic jams and pollution, making it a very unattractive area. "Once the scheme is finished, traders will see a better shopping environment for their customers." Transport chairman John Ballance said that in North Laine the number of pedestrians almost doubled after improvements and he was sure business would be better in London Road. The council will be publish a map in the next edition of Brighton and Hove News, the civic newspaper, showing how to reach the area by car and public transport.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.