A specialist shop which served Bristol's boating community for decades has permanently closed, partly blaming the council for its decision.
Force 4 Chandlery at Bristol Marina was described by one regular as an "Aladdin's cave" of boat-related equipment and clothing, selling everything from anchor lines to life jackets.
It closed in September and a notice still stuck to the window, which thanks customers for their loyalty, said the operation had become "unsustainable".
The note reads: "Unfortunately due to Bristol City Council's constant 'traffic improvements', accessing the store has been harder and harder for our customers in recent years.
"With the prospect of a complete ban on diesel cars, potentially as early as next spring, we just could not see a sustainable future for the store."
Last year, the council proposed a ban on privately owned diesel cars in a small part of the city centre and a wider clean air zone in which older, polluting vehicles would have to pay to enter.
The diesel ban idea has since been scrapped after the government expressed concerns, but a congestion charge is still being considered.
Details of an alternative proposal have been published by the council today (Friday October 8), with a spokesperson warning that: "If pollution returns back to the illegal, pre-Covid-19 levels, a charging zone will be required."
Force 4 has several other branches around the country and also operates online, but Bristol was one of its flagship stores.
The nearest alternative branch is over the bridge in Cardiff.
A staff member at its head office told Bristol Live the closure was due to a mixture of factors, including the departure of the store manager and an "accumulation of things that built up", including the prospect of a congestion charge.
Former customer and harbourside resident Peter Herridge, who has experience boat-building and volunteers at All-Aboard charity, described the shop as being like an "Aladdin's cave".
He cited the persistent disruption along Cumberland Road as a driving force, and said the loss of the chandlery "affects everyone who uses boats, repairs them or builds them".
Cumberland Road has been closed since January after the banks of the River Avon collapsed, and lengthy stabilisation works are ongoing, with a one-way system in place.
Mark Rolt, who runs Rolt's Boat Yard close to Force 4, said businesses in the area are trying to lobby the council to reopen the road.
He said: "Force 4 felt that if a diesel ban and congestion charge comes in, with the one-way system and most customers coming in by car, [business] is dead in the water."
Mr Rolt, who has been running the business for eight years, said he understood the chandlery had been operating in Bristol for about 20 years at least.
Campaign to reopen Cumberland
He explained: "Cumberland Road is now one-way, you can't get in from the west, and Avon Crescent has been closed to traffic.
"Consequently, getting boats in and out of the marina or to my place is extremely difficult.
"For a while they opened it, shortly after lockdown, with traffic lights at both ends - that helped a lot.
"We are lobbying with various other members of the business community down here to open the road."
He said people are reluctant to detour around the closure, especially with the congestion it has caused.
Further along the harbour, a shop at Wapping Wharf has also announced permanent closure after three years.
Bristol City Council has been approached for comment.
