A council has been accused of being late to support bars and restaurants struggling amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Venues want to extend outdoors seating to boost footfall in one of Birmingham's main entertainment districts.
After months of discussions, the council says it is near to allowing the scheme, and hopes to pedestrianise Hurst Street by the weekend to help.
The authority says it is committed to aiding businesses' recovery.
But for some traders, the development in Birmingham is not timely enough.
“The director of Southside BID, Lawrence Barton, has welcomed the council's latest stance, but adds "discussions are taking place that could have taken place two months ago".” Lawrence Barton
Southside Business Improvement District (BID) - which represents an area including the city's Chinatown and Gay Quarter - has been a frustrated advocate of closing the site to cars to increase the al fresco offering.
The move, it says, will allow social distancing to be maintained without compromising the amount of seating, making the area not only safe but attractive to customers in its own right.
As councils elsewhere rolled out similar plans this summer, the group said "draconian nonsense" had been preventing action in Birmingham.
His frustration was echoed by James Wong, owner of the area's Chung Ying restaurant.
