Work to remove bollards could begin next month

Work to remove controversial bollards from a York high street could begin as early as next month if plans are approved.

The bollards were put in place on Acomb Front Street in January 2023 using £570,000 from the government's Shared Prosperity Fund.

But campaigners condemned their arrival, saying the road had become a "spiritless strip".

Under plans presented to City of York Council this week, road closures would be in place for about three weeks from October so almost 90 of the 131 bollards could be removed and replaced with planters and widened crossings.

The council meeting also heard that officials were continuing to work to spend all of the funding allocated to the project before the March deadline.

Council deputy leader and economy executive member Pete Kilbane said: “What we’re proposing is something that’s future-proof though I know there will be a lot of different views.

“The timescales are tight and it’s a herculean task but the money’s burning a hole in our pockets because we need to spend it before March.”

Work on the project was likely to finish by mid-February if Kilbane gave the go-ahead later this month, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Last year, campaign group What A Load of Bollards called for their removal and set up a petition.

Zeina Chapman, from the group, said they were an example of “taxpayers' money being wasted”.

Surveys by councillors on the future of the bollards received 900 responses and 5,000 comments.

Meanwhile, councillors heard there were plans for studies to explore whether pedestrianisation could be expanded beyond the current six hours a day.

But they also heard that while many residents backed greater pedestrianisation, businesses were concerned about the impact on deliveries.

Councillor Paula Widdowson said she feared that planters may become neglected despite pledges from local volunteers and businesses to look after them.

She said: “Others elsewhere in the city have ended up full of cigarette butts with dead trees in them.”

But Kilbane said there were many examples where volunteers had looked after and taken ownership over such features.

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