A PROPERTY developer has been ordered to remove a set of controversial bollards which have been branded ‘monstrosities’ by a cycling campaigner.

Residents in the Kingswood Heath housing estate in Myland, Colchester, were disillusioned when they saw the bollards, which are about one foot in height, had sprung up on a footpath last week.

In particular, residents were unhappy with blockades on Echelon Walk because of the obstruction it caused to wheelchair users and cyclists; others complained it made it difficult for them to walk their pets.

And Will Bramhill, of Colchester Cycling Campaign, took aim at the bollards after a Kingswood Heath resident shared a picture of them on a Facebook group.

He said: “Bollards are absolutely dreadful in all instances – they are only to be used in exceptional circumstances.

“Normally, you can see how useless they are because the cycle routes are just on either side of the paths – they are genuinely useless.

“The company that’s fitted them I believe has broken the Equality Act – they should be doing equality impact assessments before they do any work to ensure they don’t interfere with wheelchair users, and those who are visually impaired.”

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Now, Colchester Council is ordering the landowner, Taylor Wimpey, to remove the bollards.

A council spokesman said: “We are aware of the bollards that have been installed in Kingswood Heath, contrary to the approved landscaping scheme for the development, and our planning enforcement team is in the process of instructing the landowner to remove them.”

When contacted by the Gazette, a spokesman for the home constructions company Taylor Wimpey said: “The bollards have been installed without our knowledge and contrary to the approved plans.

“We are in discussion with the management company to ensure that they are removed as soon as possible.”

It then transpired that the bollards had actually been installed by First Port, a property management company, with a spokesman for the organisation saying they have complied with the council’s request to have them removed.

He said: “We fully understand the council’s position and the bollards have now been removed.

“We will work with all parties involved to agree an alternative solution in line with the development’s approved plans.”