Louth parklets: Controversial seating will not return

One of two parklets in Mercer Row, Louth, pictured before they were taken away

Much-criticised "parklet" seating will not make a return to a Lincolnshire town centre after being removed due to vandalism, it has been confirmed.

The seats were installed in Louth earlier this year as part of a bid to get people to spend more time there.

But the two parklets in Mercer Row were taken away last week after being ripped up and dumped down an alley by vandals.

At a public meeting on Monday to discuss the seating, it was confirmed the parklets would not be reinstalled.

Chris Miller, head of environment at Lincolnshire County Council, said work would instead be carried out to "find locations best suited to the seating units".

The seating on Mercer Way was removed after being ripped off and dumped down an alley by vandals in September

The wooden seating areas were installed as part of the Louth Active Travel Scheme - aiming to improve walking and cycling in the town - and were funded by a £799,900 Department for Transport grant.

However, they have attracted some criticism following the introduction of town centre traffic restrictions, with some businesses reporting a drop in trade.

Since being put up in Mercer Row in August, the parklets had been damaged by vandals and anti-parklet graffiti had been daubed across the nearby road.

Lincolnshire County Council told the BBC it had paid £62,000 for four parklets, although only two were installed.

'Wrong place'

At least 150 people attended Monday's Louth Town Council-organised meeting about the parklets.

Councillor Julia Simmons, the town's deputy mayor, said afterwards that the meeting had been "very useful because people wanted to have their say" about the parklets.

"I think Mr Miller took away from the meeting the general feeling that people have towards the parklets, and those views will be fed back to the council," she added.

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Ms Simmons said she and Jeremy Baskett, the mayor of Louth, had carried out surveys on the parklets since they were first installed in the summer.

"The overriding feeling feeling was that the parklets were in the wrong place," she said.

Mr Miller said many ideas had been put forward during the meeting about how the next phase of the Active Travel Scheme could reflect "the future needs of pedestrians and visitors to Louth".

He said it had always been a "fluid, trial scheme" and the council had reacted to suggestions put to it.

Traders say the parklets are not in keeping with the market town's character

Visiting the town last week, the BBC found only one person in support of the seating. Other residents dismissed them as "skips" and complained they were out of keeping with the town's character.

Ms Simmons explained that Louth had a high number of elderly and people with disabilities who struggled when 30-minute parking bays were removed in March ahead of the installation of the parklets.

She said she felt "the ethos" of the scheme was "a good one", but she added that "one size does not fit all".

A decision about alternative locations, if any, for the parklets is expected to be made at a meeting of the Louth Transport Board on 25 October.

Mr Miller said the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss ideas suggested at Monday's meeting and from members of the public.