Shoppers hoping to kick off early Christmas shopping were left irate after becoming stuck in a car park traffic jam in Newmarket’s Westfield mall on Saturday.
Speaking to Breakfast, Newmarket Business Association’s Mark Knoff-Thomas called it “a perfect storm” for congestion.
“The weather was dreadful, it was the beginning of the Christmas shopping period ramping up and pre-Black Friday sales too, so pretty much the entire roading network was having a lot of stress.”
He said Newmarket sees upwards of 70,000 visitors on a Saturday and the location makes it particularly prone to traffic jams.
“The traffic is heavy in Newmarket and Christmas is Christmas, but despite everything, trade is good.”
Knoff-Thomas said they are “doing all they can” to make sure it doesn’t happen again, with more staff rostered on for the shopping period moving forward.
“Especially at this time of year we really want you to come to Newmarket for Christmas shopping and there’s plenty of options for transport. Just plan, plan carefully.”
In a statement Westfield apologised to customers for the “unforseen delays” in the car park on Saturday.
“Ahead of our busy sales period next weekend, we will be deploying additional ambassadors to the car park and are recommending customers plan their visit to take advantage of our extended trading hours.”