Business owners' anger at Enfield cycle route that will 'destroy high streets'

Ms Osman said local businesses had surveyed their customers to ask how they had travelled to the shop, and some retailers reported as many as 90 per cent of visitors travelling in by car.

"It's a fact of life that people use their cars," she added.

"It is good to get people out of their cars, but this isn't the solution.

"We've got a high level of community engagement here, and we know that people don't want this."

Malcolm McGrath, 61, who lives in Winchmore Hill and owns Keymakers (London) Ltd locksmiths in Green Lanes said the scheme would "render the road unfit for commerce".

He added that he was disappointed with the council's consultation process, which he said was poorly advertised, with meetings held "in inconvenient locations at inconvenient times."

Mr McGrath told the Standard: "It will be worse than a Red Route. The fact that the cycle lanes will relieve all the single yellow line parking will make it very difficult for church-goers on Sundays, and for evening trade, for the restaurants.

"Almost all of our customers come by car or by trade vehicle."

However, Enfield Council said its own consultation had evidenced only half of shoppers travelling in by car, with many using public transport or walking.

Councillor Daniel Anderson, cabinet member for environment, said the benefits of the scheme were "threefold"; improving public health, creating a safer enviroment for cyclists, and boosting the borough's economy.

He said the scheme would see economic benefits thanks to the "transformation of town centres", which would "make them more attractive to visitors, bringing them in from other catchement areas", and would also benefit residents who visit from within the borough.

He also said the regeneration scheme would go some way towards tackling what he described as London's obesity crisis and air quality crisis.

He told the Standard: "Many short journeys are taken by car when they could be taken by bike, and it would make the roads less congested.

"Many people say they can't cycle because they're scared - if we have these segregated cycle lanes, which a child could safely cycle in, anybody young or old alike will feel safe."

Cllr Anderson refuted Ms Osman's claims, saying the death of local high streets was "a myth that keeps being propagated", and the number of shoppers coming by car had been "overestimated".

He said: "Car parking in many town centres will remain. We're not going to reduce car parking spaces, we'll seek to increase car parking for people coming to shop.

He added that although car parking arrangements may change, "parking will still be there."

He stressed that any views put forward by residents during the consultation process would be taken into account.

He told the Standard: "Any sort of transformation which is being proposed will lead to many people having concerns, doubts, fears."

Adding that "all residents' views", would be listened to "however skeptical they may be," saying: "we'll be taking account of those fears and mitigating as many of those concerns as possible, so that we end up with the best scheme for the borough in light of those concerns."