A major development in Sutton town centre has tightened the squeeze on parking and left businesses in the dark about their future.

Sutherland House in Brighton Road is being converted into 80 single-bedroom flats and 48 two-bedroom units. None will be affordable housing.

A paid-for car park beneath the site closed down on Friday, January 16, taking roughly 40 spaces away from shoppers and town centre workers. 

The site is being developed by Criterion Capital and is home to a handful of businesses including a car wash, cafe, and restaurant.

Owners of the firms claim Criterion haven’t bothered telling them if they will be staying put, bought out, or forced to move on when their leases end.

Gopi Kannan, who is the manager of the Rose Cafe attached to Sutherland House, said: "They have told me nothing, I have no clue about the future of my business.

"I have gone round the side of the building where the car park is, and I can see the work has already started, but still they tell me nothing.

"If they offer good money I will take it and move somewhere else."

An employee at a hand car wash at Sutherland House, who asked not be named, said: "Our lease ends at the end of the year. What we will do after that I don’t know.

"There is a chance we will be going underneath where the car park used to be, but we really can’t be sure."

A Criterion spokesperson said: "We cannot comment on individual commercial negotiations, but will be reviewing the mix of occupiers as part and parcel of the development process."

Sutton South councillor Richard Clifton blasted changes to planning laws, which he says have allowed Criterion to build the 128 flats, without making any of it affordable housing.

A Criterion Capital spokesperson: "None of the flats will be for private sale so provision of affordable housing doesn’t apply. Developers only need to offer a percentage of affordable homes when they are building homes to sell on to home owners or investors."