Yes, bollards should go... but town must take right direction
ONE-WAY AND EXTRA PARKING SHOULD REMAIN SAYS COUNCILLOR
THE deputy leader of Derbyshire County Council has said removing all Covid-19 social distancing street furniture will not be a quick task, as public pressure mounts to get rid of the “unsightly” plastic bollards that are blighting the high street.
However county councillor and Ashbourne businessman Simon Spencer has announced that a few bollards are due to be removed “very shortly,” while officers draw up a plan for how the streets might look in the longer term.
Councillor Spencer says he has been liaising with officers and cabinet member for highways Kewal Singh Athwal, who are working on ways to find a more attractive solution to widening pavements and encouraging footfall.
But he admits nothing significant can happen overnight.
Additional pressure is being placed on the county council by Ashbourne Town Team, which wants to see more attractive social distancing barriers, and a continuation of the one-way and parking scheme in Compton.
However Councillor Spencer has pointed out that, while discussions are under way and funding is being sought, it is important not to rush the job.
He told the News Telegraph: “I personally think that if we’re going to get this right, and utilise the resources we’ve got in place, we can address all these things in the proper way.
“I want to get these bollards moved as soon as possible as well, but if we’re going to do it properly there are a lot of hoops we need to jump through. We don’t want to end up in a worse position than we were when we started.
“I want to see Compton remain a one-way, I certainly want to retain that extra parking we’ve created, albeit with some adjustments, but it was rushed in the first place for obvious reasons, because we had to do it quickly.
“But now we’ve got an opportunity to implement it in a more formal and safer way.”
Councillor Spencer says he believes the general public wants to see some social distancing measures retained, to compensate for narrow pavements in key shopping areas, and he also feels the town consensus is to keep the one-way system in place.
And the next step would be to put this to the test by holding a full public consultation, which must be carried out before any significant steps can be made, before plans can be drawn up, and before funding can be applied for.
He said: “If the public want these bollards just to be removing, back to square one. Then fine, that can be done overnight.
“But I don’t believe that’s what the general public wants, having spoken to our town councillors, our district councillors, local representatives, people who talk to me in the streets, I think generally most people want to retain Compton as it is. And that doesn’t happen overnight.”
Derbyshire County Council is currently looking into funding sources which are available for the replacement of the barriers, and for making the temporary traffic order in Compton, which is due to expire in January into a permanent order.
Councillor Spencer says he hopes the authority will be able to unveil plans in the coming weeks.
We don’t want to end up in a worse position than we were when we started.
Cllr Simon Spencer