A barber shop near Porters Lake is being told by the Halifax Regional Municipality that it must move or close its doors for good due to traffic safety concerns.

Crason Bennett, a fourth generation barber, runs Bennett's Barber Shop out of his home in Head of Chezzetcook.

Bennett's problems started when the municipality received a complaint from a driver who tried to access the barber shop, located on Upanover Lane. The driver said getting in and out of the shop's driveway — off Highway 7 — was too dangerous because of visibility and speed.

"What we're trying to do now is to see if we can get the reduced speed, hidden driveway [sign], or some kind of amber light to indicate that we are here, and you've got to slow down," Bennett said.

"We've been here now for three and a half years and there's been one complaint and now, we're being forced to shut down."

A month's notice

Even though Bennett holds a building permit allowing him to run a business out of his home, the province is now refusing to grant commercial access to Upanover Lane.

That decision triggered the municipality to send a letter a few weeks ago, informing Bennett to either close or move his business by June 12.

"I might not have any choice," he said.

Crason Bennett, owner of Bennett's Barber Shop, says he has no plans to close his shop and will wait until someone shows up to force him out. (CBC)

"I might have to shut down and hopefully find some other place down the road. But, the only problem with that is then I start losing customers."

This isn't the first time a home business on Upanover Lane has been closed because of safety issues. A youth arts program was run out of the only other house on the lane, and was shut down last year after the municipality stepped in.

The owner of Artsy Fartsy Studio, Rhonda Frank, recalled her similar predicament from last year.

"We went into the municipality and were told that we needed to have a separate permit to run our home-based business," said Frank. "When we applied for that permit, they denied us."

Bennett has contacted his MLA and councillor for help, and is hoping for a six-month extension. In the meantime, he says he has no plans to close his barber shop and will wait until someone shows up to force him out.