Dover Castle Street Area Society also complains about Kent County Council parklets
13:07, 16 March 2021
updated: 15:07, 16 March 2021
Controversial benches have caused more furore by now being placed in one of a town's most historic streets.
One of the parklets, which have already provoked widespread disparagement in Dover, is now in the elegant Georgian Castle Street.
This latest placing in the £90,000 Kent County Council scheme has now whipped up the anger of the residents' group the Castle Street Area Society.
Treasurer Adeline Reidy said in a letter to Dover District and Town Councils: "Why was this terrible plan allowed to go forward with no pause for reflection. before placing it in the prime historic street of Dover?
"It will spoil every photo taken from the Market Square by our thousands of visitors."
The street is an ideal photographic setting because of its smart appearance and straight line with Dover Castle clearly in the background.
Mrs Reidy continued: "Is KCC allowed to do what they like to our town? We could have saved them money if they had asked representatives of the town.
"The boarding is the perfect platform for bill posting and they will have graffiti on them within a week.
"And there is a loss of three very necessary parking places."
The parklets, made out of recycled plastic cleared from the sea, first began to appear in two places in Biggin Street at the end of February.
Another set is in Dover High Street, a fourth has been earmarked for Cherry Tree Avenue and Mrs Reidy says the Castle Street one was put up on Sunday
The parklets, the first of their kind in Kent, include plants and provide spaces to park bicycles as well as seating.
They were paid for with public and private money.
Straight away they attracted criticism on social media with members of the public saying they looked like "fly-tipping" and "cardboard boxes."
Cllr Trevor Bartlett, leader of Dover District Council, said they were "blooming awful."
Kent County Council defended the scheme saying it was a way of helping the town recover from the economic effects of the pandemic.
It said research showed that such seating aided town centre footfall.
A spokesman said of the criticisms: "We appreciate this initial appearance of the parklets may not be to everyone’s taste but they have been created using sustainably sourced materials, and recycled ocean plastic.
“These processes can result in more 'plain' or 'raw' looking structures, but it is important that KCC leads by example using responsible and sustainable sources as we set out to achieve our environmental targets.”
