We were asked to remove the bollards, thought to date back to the 1850s, in May 2023. They were located at either end of The Twitchell, a footpath that joins Derby Road to Chapel Street in Melbourne.
The request to remove the bollards came at a meeting with a representative from our highways department and local councillors and was based on safety grounds and because it was difficult for those with pushchairs or in a wheelchair to get past them to use the footpath.
In August 2023 we removed the bollards as they were damaged during the removal and they were sent off as scrap metal.
Following the bollards removal several local people undertook some fundraising to pay for replica ones. And now we have agreed to pay for them to be reinstalled close to the originals.
Our Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, Councillor Charlotte Cupit, said:
“We removed the original bollards at the request of local councillors and because we could see that there was an issue with some people not being able to use the Twitchell.
“But after working with a local group who have fund raised to provide some replicas, we are more than happy to arrange for them to be installed close to the originals.
“We’d hope that the replica bollards can be installed over the summer months, once they arrive from the manufacturer.”