Bournemouth Council has decided to remove bars it installed on its public benches to discourage homeless people from sleeping on them after ‘extensive feedback’.
The council installed over £3,000 worth of bars on some of its public benches last summer after receiving complaints homeless people were sleeping on them.
However, after receiving ‘extensive feedback’ the council has reversed its decision and had them removed.
‘The decision last summer to install the bars on a very small number of benches in key select locations in the town centre was made by a multi-agency operational group, chaired by the council and attended by the Police, Rough Sleeper Team and the Town Centre BiD,’ said Cllr Robert Lawton.
‘The decision was taken in response to many complaints about people lying on them throughout the day, meaning that wider members of the community were unable to use them to sit on.
‘However we have listened to the extensive feedback over the last week and in light of the depth of feeling, have today reviewed that decision and agreed to have the bars removed.’
The rapper Professor Green raised awareness of the bars when he recently filmed his friend removing them and replacing them with makeshift shelters for the homeless.
Image: photogeoff / Shutterstock.com.
