Bring back my bollard!

PARKING mad . . . Peter Kendal

A FED-UP Waterhead man is parking mad and just wants his bollard back!

The concrete bollard was put up 15 years ago outside the Birks Avenue home of Peter Kendal to help deal with parking and access issues. It was removed after it was damaged two years ago - and has never been replaced.

After contacting Oldham Council several times, Mr Kendal (64) took matters into his own hands and erected a temporary bollard of his own - which was removed by the council after complaints from neighbours.

Mr Kendal said: “Around 2000-2001 I was allowed a concrete bollard after council officers witnessed the traffic problems. The bollard was removed but not replaced in 2014 and after months of waiting I was told they weren’t going to replace it - despite my offer to pay for it.

“After waiting nearly a year and seeing the problems building up again, I commissioned an imitation bollard. It wasn’t in place more than a couple of days before they were on the doorstep, demanding its removal.

Councillor Dave Hibbert, cabinet member for transport, said: “In 2014 a concrete bollard was reported damaged and on inspection there was no reason to warrant replacing it, so the footway was reinstated.

“We understand why Mr Kendal created a similar structure in the footway, but we were left with no option but to remove it because it was unauthorised and raised concerns from neighbours.”

Mr Kendal says his bollard fight is part of a much bigger parking problem caused by people who don’t live on the street.