Grade II listed bollard replaced with a stump
6:11pm Monday 21st January 2013 in News
By Tim Ridgway
Grade II listed bollard replaced with a stump
They used to be a pair of unlikely film stars protected for future generations.
But after one of these elaborate matching bollards was damaged, town hall bosses have turned them into “little and large”.
The mismatch in the alleyway outside the Regency Tavern in Russell Square, Brighton, was created on New Year’s Eve when one of them was smashed.
Days later staff from Brighton and Hove City Council replaced the damaged Grade II listed bollard with a plain stump.
Now residents are urging the local authority to foot the bill for a replacement so the pair, which featured in the opening scenes of 1948 film Brighton Rock, can be reunited.
Suzanne Hinton, the secretary of the Regency Square Area Society, said: “This is between the council and the council.
“It is a conservation area and they are listed bollards so it is the council’s responsibility to ensure it is put back as it was. “I have no idea how much it will cost to replace it.
“But if they cannot find the old one then they will have to recast a new one which will cost a lot of money.”
Paul Smith, the owner of The Regency Tavern, said: “They are in Brighton Rock. The film starts off showing the seafront properties, including the place where I live in Marine Parade.
“Then it pans through to what it calls the scruffy part of town and it ends with a shot of the alleyway
“We get a lot of people passing through at night from Preston Street or coming back from the clubs. “We had a brass hanging disappear off the front door just before Christmas.”
A council spokeswoman said the local authority only had a duty to make the area safe and it was in negotiations with local groups about who will fund the work.
She added: “We are aware of this issue and have been working with the conservation team and the local preservation group to provide a solution.
“The replacement bollard is a safety measure while the group decide on the best way forward, which is either to replace the damaged one or to repair it.”
Comments(7)
HJarrs
says…
7:42pm Mon 21 Jan 13
I fear more money will be spent taking about replacement than providing one! A common problem in large organisations.
HJarrs
saveHOVE
says…
7:58pm Mon 21 Jan 13
Never been impressed by the BHCC Highways department….
They say they only have to make safe, well what they did was remove and replace.
What did the damaged bollard look like after it was damaged. A photo would be useful. Could it have been repaired? Could ‘make safe’ have been achieved without removal and replacement?
The idea that a Grade 2 Listed artefact is expendable has to be baloney…..surely.
In the days of Hove Borough Council something similar happened. Medina Terrace lawn was once handsomely surrounded by tall Victorian railings that escaped the wartime smeltings.
A section was damaged by a delivery vehicle smashing into them and Hove Borough Council removed the whole lot.
Councils….it was ever thus and Councillors do not hold the officers to account.
saveHOVE
saveHOVE
says…
8:02pm Mon 21 Jan 13
Brighton and Hove City Council have displayed casual, middle-finger contempt for this listed artefact which surely needed a Listed Building planning application to remove it.
None exists.
What do the Regency Ward Councillors have to say about this: Mr. and Mrs. Kitcat……!?
saveHOVE
NickBrt
says…
8:34pm Mon 21 Jan 13
If a resident changed and downgraded a listing building or item we’d be forced to reinstate it to its original quality. So must the Council.
NickBrt
derekhunt
says…
8:45pm Mon 21 Jan 13
[quote][p][bold]saveHOVE[/bold] wrote:
Never been impressed by the BHCC Highways department….
They say they only have to make safe, well what they did was remove and replace.
What did the damaged bollard look like after it was damaged. A photo would be useful. Could it have been repaired? Could ‘make safe’ have been achieved without removal and replacement?
The idea that a Grade 2 Listed artefact is expendable has to be baloney…..surely.
In the days of Hove Borough Council something similar happened. Medina Terrace lawn was once handsomely surrounded by tall Victorian railings that escaped the wartime smeltings.
A section was damaged by a delivery vehicle smashing into them and Hove Borough Council removed the whole lot.
Councils….it was ever thus and Councillors do not hold the officers to account.[/p][/quote]I think the story says that the original one has gone walkies so repair isn’t really on the cards.
“The replacement bollard is a safety measure while the group decide on the best way forward, which is either to replace the damaged one or to repair it.”
This implies this is a temporary measure so in the words of today’s departed ‘calm down dear – It’s only a bollard’
derekhunt
Mr Sworld
says…
8:50pm Mon 21 Jan 13
[quote][p][bold]saveHOVE[/bold] wrote:
Brighton and Hove City Council have displayed casual, middle-finger contempt for this listed artefact which surely needed a Listed Building planning application to remove it.
None exists.
What do the Regency Ward Councillors have to say about this: Mr. and Mrs. Kitcat……!?[/p][/quote]The council didn’t remove it, it was broken at the base by a member of the public.
They have replaced it with a standard one while they figure out how to repair or cast a copy of the original.
Mr Sworld
John Steed
says…
10:16pm Mon 21 Jan 13
dont knock the old hove council workers to much, the guys that worked down in the forge and welding shop in the old hove depot were dab hands at repairing some of the irreplaceable old railings and lamposts etc it was they who showed me how to weld cast iron, they were also able to replace the entire floor of the receiver of a dust cart in four hours, no mean feat and it saved the local council tax payers a small fortune.
hopefully in this case the damaged original has been retained, a replacement can be recast at a reasonable cost, if a pattern has to be made 1st then it is going to be expensive.
John Steed
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