Monday, February 8, 2021

Petition started to remove Castle Street bollards



* The bollards along Castle Street.

An online petition has been started to remove the temporary bollards and lane defenders on Castle Street.

The temporary measures, along one side of Llangollen's main street where the butchers, bakers and charity shops are located, were put in place last November as part of Local Sustainable Transport scheme to ensure adequate pedestrian space for Covid-19 social distancing.

Parking along the opposite side of the street was temporarily banned at the same time.

However, the bollards and defenders have proved to be unpopular with some local residents and traders.

Ruthin rejected similar measures last week following resistance from the local Member Area Group.

Similar plans for Denbigh were shelved after public opposition to the idea.

Today, a petition to remove the bollards has been started by former town mayor and county councillor Stuart Davies who over the weekend announced his intention to stand for the vacant town council seat at a by-election on March 18.

By mid-afternoon today (Monday) it had been signed by 47 people.  

The petition, on Change.org http://chng.it/NhwVcbYC and intended to be passed to Denbighshire County Council's chief executive, says: "The changes brought in to Castle Street in Llangollen came about as a result of a flawed initial consultation with Denbighshire County Council.

"There was a lack of community awareness on the plans once published and how to respond to them once they were made public.

"Since implementation of the scheme its impact has been clearly evident with the complete loss of parking for the disabled, as well as the loss of any loading bay facilities on the high street.

"The ability for local residents to pop and shop has been lost impacting Castle Street businesses when they have been able to open.

"There are reports that people have been injured.

"The justification for social distancing is not warranted at a time of low footfall and lockdown.

"The measures taken over a 300m stretch of road have no significant impact on the aims of improving active travel.

"The lane defenders/bollards and associated fitting are unsightly and should be removed."

Llangollen county councillor Graham Timms, who supported the Sustainable Transport measures, has been asked for a comment.  

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