THE owner of a family garage is facing a £40,000 legal bill as he fights Wyre Forest District Council to prevent his long-established business being demolished.

Paul Mitchell, of Lloyds Garage, in Stourport, was issued with a compulsory purchase order (CPO) by the district council in March.

It wants the site to improve the pedestrian link and visibility from Bridge Street to the canal basins as part of a redevelopment of the town.

Mr Mitchell is not going down without a fight, however, and the matter will be heard at a land tribunal scheduled to be heard in February.

The garage employs 12 staff, all of whom will be out of work if Mr Mitchell loses his battle to save the business.

“In March, I got a panic phone call from the guys at the garage, saying the council had issued a CPO,” Mr Mitchell told the Shuttle/Times & News.

“They decided to put emotional and financial pressure on me by issuing a CPO without establishing whether I was a willing seller.

“I’m not happy about it. I’m having to fund a fight that I have not started. It’s just very unfair. Every bit of my savings is going towards this.

“I’m going to be looking at a cost of £40,000 by the time I go to the hearing.”

The 55-year-old added: “This is a community garage. We get the little old lady coming in here and we check her tyres and we don’t charge anything for it.

“We’re not a massively profitable organisation but we pride ourselves on giving the best service. I’m just a little guy trying to run my business.”

A spokesman for the district council said: “This decision was taken by the council in order to deliver further economic benefits to Stourport by opening up a pedestrian link from Bridge Street to the Stourport Canal Basins area.

“£3 million pounds of Heritage Lottery Fund money has been spent successfully on improvements to the basins area where it is envisaged that by attracting more visitors to the area and promoting the basins as a visitor destination, it will bring additional spending to the locality.

“The basins area has previously been identified as being disconnected from the main town centre and, therefore, underused by visitors to Stourport.

“As well as providing a pedestrian link, the site will accommodate further development, which could include eateries, shops and housing.

“The council has maintained a dialogue with the owner with a view to purchasing the site and it is still hoped that this could be achieved before the matter is heard at a public inquiry,” the spokesman added.