A shop owner has slammed his local council after they planted a tree outside his shop which he claims will block his business.
Grant Tully runs Tully's in Sunderland but fears the new greenery will stop people from entering his shop as they grow and block the view to his business entrance.
The trees have been put in as part of a "bus rationalisation project" aiming to make the city centre more bus-friendly, but Mr Tully is asking Sunderland City Council to rethink.
Mr Tully said: "When I discussed this with the council, they originally said the trees could go anywhere and that they had been put in the plans to make the drawings look good. They would decide later where to put the trees.
"But the trees are blocking our signage. If people can’t see your business you’re not going to last very long."
He said the council have agreed to replace the trees for smaller ones, but they will continue to grow to full size, reports the Express.
Mr Tully continued: "They’ve agreed to replace the trees. But they’re going to replace them with the same type of trees, just younger. A young tree is soon going to mature into the same size as this. I’ve read that the foliage will be about three metres diameter.
"They’re clearly going to get out of hand. I think they could put us out of business."
Under the new scheme, the council states it plans to move an existing taxi rank to make it more accessible to customers from the train station.
It also states it would "improve the public realm to the south and west" of the station to create a more "pedestrian focussed environment".
The council website states: "Improvements will include level paving throughout to match Market Square and the removal of unnecessary street clutter including the existing traffic signals at the junctions of Brougham Street, Waterloo Place and Athenaeum Street."
