Parklet placed on truck after council tore it down
COUNCIL killjoys removed flowerbeds placed by volunteers in a car park – because it wasn’t a vehicle.
So locals have now responded by planting the public garden on the back of a truck and driving it back in.
Adam Tranter, 31, built the ‘parklet’ in a parking space on Kenilworth High Street last year to cheer up locals and help businesses.
The mini-park filled just one space in the car park on the high street and included flowerbeds, grass, chairs, benches and bunting.
But council workers tore it down – claiming it needed a “pavement licence”.
Mr Tranter and his neighbours have responded by buying a secondhand truck, building a public garden on the back and parking it back on the space. The “park on wheels” is registered, taxed and insured – and has a parking permit.
Marketing boss Mr Tranter said: “I never stopped thinking about how we could find another way to make a community space after the ‘parklet’ was removed. It cost more than the first one as I bought a second-hand van, but it was something I really wanted to do, so it wasn’t about the money.
“Towns should be places for people to meet and have a chat and enjoy their local area and I’m very passionate about public spaces for that reason. Since we parked it up, the response both online and in the area has been overwhelmingly positive – people seem to really love it. Fingers crossed this one is here to stay.
“A car using the space to park might make one person happy – but this can make hundreds happy”.
Along with friends Ray Grilli, Chris Barrett and Simon Redfearn, he transformed a 1970 Piaggio Ape van he bought on eBay for around £4,000. In April, when the original park was removed by Warwickshire County Council, a spokesman said: “The parklet on High Street, Kenilworth was removed, as it has not had a Pavement Licence granted, or applied for, and we cannot determine its owner.
“In addition to the lack of licence, we also have concerns around the safety of anyone using the parklet, given its positioning.”