CONTROVERSIAL bollards, erected without warning in Church Street, are to be scrapped just a week after they were installed And Sidmouth's county councillor is now offering up to £10,000 to install a loading bay in the road instead. The five bollards stop

CONTROVERSIAL bollards, erected without warning in Church Street, are to be scrapped just a week after they were installed And Sidmouth's county councillor is now offering up to £10,000 to install a loading bay in the road instead.The five bollards stopped delivery lorries parking on the pavement, so they had to block traffic while unloading goods.They will disappear within days and traders, kept in the dark about their installation, will be consulted by Sidmouth Chamber of Commerce chairman Paul Duriez about the possibility of providing a loading bay outside The Sidmouth Florist. The cost of installing and removing the bollards is estimated at £420.On Monday an informal meeting between DCC officers Paul Wilson and Rob Cann, county councillor Stuart Hughes, Mr Duriez and police determined the bollards should go.Shopkeepers, town council's chairman Tom Cox and clerk, Trina Jarrett were also on hand.Asked why traders were not consulted before the bollards were installed, a DCC spokesman said: "It is not procedure to consult on routine maintenance. Drivers should know parking on a footway is illegal."He said if traders supported a formal loading bay, the paved area would be made into one.Mr Hughes will put up to £10,000 of his DCC locality budget to ensure the bay was provided quickly. He said: "The first thing I said was let's get the bollards removed. In the long term we should look at pedestrianising Church Street and should look at the whole of the town."Sidmouth is not a very good shopping experience because of the conflict between cars and pedestrians. I am not happy at all when we are trying to create a vibrant shopping centre."Mr Cox was frustrated town councillors knew nothing of the new bollards, which he described as "a significant addition"."The town council can't step aside and have things happen that change things for the people."I understand how highways wanted to get things done but they must not ride roughshod over people's views."You can put as many loading bays in as you like but if they are not protected as such it is a waste of time, they are just car parks."l A waste of resources? Have your say by writing to the Herald at 106 High Street, Sidmouth, EX10 8EF or email peter.leriche@archant.co.uk