£430,000 to be spent replacing town centre bollards
ALMOST half a million pounds will be spent on new bollards for Nuneaton, Bedworth and Stratford town centres.
Cabinet members at Warwickshire County Council are being asked to rubber-stamp plans to spend on £430,000 on the replacements.
Nuneaton, Bedworth and Stratford-upon-avon are the only three town centres to have automatic rising bollards to keep vehicles out of pedestrian zones during the day.
The county council says the bollards are in need of replacement - some of which are 25 years old.
It claims buying new ones will save money in the long run.
There are six sets of automatic rising bollards located on junction of Queens Road/dugdale Street, Coventry Street, Bridge Street/wheat
Street, Newdigate Street/bond Gate, Harefield Road, and Abbey Street/powell Way.
The council says they are past their operating life and require replacement as there is a risk that there will be considerable ongoing expense in maintaining the bollards to ensure ongoing operational effectiveness.
There are two sets of automatic rising bollards located in Bedworth centre. They were installed a number of years ago and have exceeded their life.
Currently there are three sets of automatic rising bollards located in Stratford. The first on Meer Street and another two on Henley Street both in the centre of the town. They exist to ensure that the pedestrian zone traffic regulation order is complied with by vehicles to prevent passage further into Meer Street and a length of Henley Street. They ensure that the area remains as pedestrian friendly as is achievable based on business, residents and visitor needs.
According to a cabinet report, the bollards reached their end of life some years ago and have been in service for approximately 25 years.
According to a county council report, which will be discussed by cabinet members on September 10, there are extra costs with trying to maintain the current bollards.
This includes officers having to attend site when bollards have failed and to liaise with contractors, residents, businesses and other stakeholders as a result.
There are further costs associated with ensuring the bollards are correctly working and in an upright position.
“The proposed replacement of each set of bollards in each town centre will reduce the costs associated with maintenance of the existing bollards considerably, and represent a saving to the county council over a 10 year period of the proposed bollards of £27,126 per set, giving a total of £271,259,” the report states. “The break-even point will be year 4.
“As well as the replacement of the bollards an additional £30,000 is required to upgrade the signing in the vicinity to the rising bollards to ensure that pedestrians are fully aware of the need to walk around the area of the bollards when in a down position to avoid trips/slips during operation of them. This equates to £3,000 per site (per set).”
There has long been an argument in Nuneaton that the timing of when the bollards are lowered should be changed, to allow more access to the town centre.
But despite repeated calls over the years, the county council has been steadfast in its decision to remain at 10am-4pm.
Members of the county council’s cabinet will meet on September 10 to discuss whether to grant the funding from the Capital Investment Fund 2020/21.
As well as the replacement of the bollards an additional £30,000 is required to upgrade the signing in the vicinity to the rising bollards