Falmouth why the controversial rising bollard was removed

A Packet reader took a picture of the rising bollard being removed from its pit outside the Grapes pub at the entrance to Church Street early last Tuesday.

The bollard is supposedly used to prevent traffic entering that stretch of the road between the hours of 11am and 4pm, but is often abused by drivers.

To combat this, a new Falmouth Gateway is to be constructed at the entrance of Market Street which involves moving the bollard to the entrance of the town's shopping street and putting in new signage and street furniture.

The move was opposed by traders who said it would kill the high street, but despite this, following a public consultation and support from Falmouth Town Council, the work is due to start in the Autumn.

However the removal of the bollard at 7.20am on March 21 prompted speculation that the work had started early.

The bollard will eventually moved to the entrance of Market Street (Image: Cormac)

However Cornwall Council have now told the Packet that the removal of the bollard was part of routine maintenance and not part of the Falmouth Gateway scheme which is still scheduled to start this Autumn.

Church Street has been the subject of a traffic restriction order since 2022 restricting traffic from using the road between 11am and 4pm.

However a lack of enforcement led to complaints about a rise in the number of vehicles entering the road during the pedestrian zone restricted hours.

The complaints led to the implementation of the scheme after Cornwall Council carried out a public consultation. Falmouth Town Council also voted to green light the scheme.

It is hoped that by relocating the rising bollard to the gateway at the entrance to Market Street will help solve the problem.