Details of bollards plan for Stamford High Street revealed

Firm plans to install rising bollards to protect a pedestrianised high street have been proving elusive - although new details have emerged this morning (Tuesday).

Methods of preventing vehicles entering Stamford High Street while it is busy with shoppers and cafe tables have been a regular discussion topic at Stamford Town Council meetings.

Mayor of Stamford Kelham Cooke, who is on both the town council and the highways authority, Lincolnshire County Council, is ‘fully in support of rising bollards’, which would be raised either end of High Street at 10am to protect pedestrians, and lowered at 4pm to allow access for delivery vehicles and market traders’ vehicles.

He has suggested rising bollards could be installed despite there being a network of cables and pipes under the High Street’s block paving.

He said: “I am aware that there are power cables and other utilities within the entrances to the pedestrianised areas, which is not a surprise, but will need further investigation.

“I am fully in support of rising bollards and still in ongoing discussion with Lincolnshire County Council highways department about these being rolled out in the short term to fix the long-term issues residents and businesses have experienced for many years.”

Up until last week, Lincolnshire County Council had remained tight-lipped about whether it was involved in any plans for the installation of the safety measure.

But this morning (Tuesday) a spokesperson for the council said: "Over the last few months we've reviewed options for bollards on Stamford High Street and tried to work with the town council to find a flexible solution to keep vehicles off pedestrian areas at key times, but allow delivery vehicles access when required.

"While it hasn't been possible to arrange for Stamford Town Council to assist with this, we have been out and surveyed the area for installing rising bollards.

"We have located suitable power connections and are doing the design work to ensure there are no underground utilities before installing the bollards in the next few months."

This has removed a question mark over the type of rising bollards on their way. Stamford Town Council had considered those that need to be manually unlocked and lowered to rest horizontally under a panel in the pavement, as an alternative to fully automated bollards. However, an operative would have had to be employed to do this in the morning and the afternoon.

A plan for ANPR cameras had also been discussed previously.

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