“Wilful vandalism” to Louth parklets sparks county council investigation

Lincolnshire County Council is investigating after “wilful vandalism” caused damage to a controversial Louth “parklet”.

Photos shared online on Monday showed the top bar of one of the parklets installed as part of the Louth Active Travel Scheme broken and sheared off.

By 4.30pm today Lincolnshire County Council had repaired the street furniture.

A spokesman confirmed it had not been aware of the previous damage to the parklet until the breakage was reported on social media and through Fix My Street.

A spokesman said: “We believe this was wilful vandalism and as such we will carry out an investigation into how this damage occurred.

“It has taken a considerable weight to be brought down on top of this bar repeatedly for this failure to happen and we will be looking into the cause.”

The bar had been sheared off. | Photo: Supplied

Commenters on the post reported that the bar had been bent for some time.

There had reportedly been children playing in the area when the bar broke.

Lou Hunt, who shared the photo, said: “They said they would be safe to sit on.

“The poor child must have had such a shock when it snapped off, a serious accident waiting to happen?”

The bar broke due to “wilful vandalism” allege LCC. | Photo: Supplied

She told Local Democracy Reporters: “We just heard a commotion and two ladies stood by with push chairs and two children, one was the mother who screamed when the safety bar fell off.

“It has been bent/damaged for well over a week now, but no maintenance has been done on it.

“I don’t think the child was ‘sat’ on it, more like holding it or messing around.”

She reported the issue to Fix My Street at 10.40am.

The parklets are installed on Mercer Row, in Louth. | Photo: Supplied

The parklets have raised more than a few eyebrows in recent days, with many questioning their position on the busy Mercer Row high street through town.

The Louth Active Travel Scheme aims to improve walking and cycling in the town by taking away some parking, moving other bays and doubling down on café culture in the Cornmarket.

However, there has been criticism levelled at the scheme spilling in to Mercer Row, with businesses saying there has been a drop in trade since it started and residents – particularly the elderly and disabled – bemoaning a lack of spaces for them to park for five minute pick ups and drop offs.

The scheme was set to last 18 months.

Feedback on the scheme can be sent to LCC by emailing [email protected]