Bike shed row erupts as "ugly" cycle shelter "ruins" sea view, according to
some furious locals... although others tell critics to get their
"priorities straight" as "it's hardly the end of the world"

The "absolute carbuncle of a shed" has attracted the ire of some seaside
residents, a councillor claiming the installation of seven bike parking
shelters "boggles the mind" — even if some more relaxed locals have told
the ranting critics to "chill out"...

by DAN ALEXANDER TUE, APR 23, 2024 11:46

The installation of some new bike parking shelters in one seaside community
has triggered fervent debate, a portion of disgruntled residents up in arms
about the "eyesore" structures that they believe "ruins" the sea views. On
the other hand, the complaints have been met by rolled eyes from some
locals who have argued it is "not really the end of the world" and the
outraged "clearly don't have a lot to worry about in life" if they are
"bothered about a bike shed".

Southend Council is installing seven bicycle parking sheds, including some
on the seafront, with the project financed by the Department for
Transport's Active Travel Fund. Planning permission was not necessary as
the sheds have been installed under permitted development rights, a section
of the community voicing its displeasure at the appearance of the shelters.

Leading the way is Stephen Aylen, a non-aligned councillor for
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council who questioned why the "ugly and out of
place" structures had been built, especially when he believed the land at
the Belfairs Park site was going to be turned into four car parking spaces.

"We have had five meetings to discuss parking for the shops. One of the
solutions we came up with to increase parking was to add four parking
spaces on already existing ground in Belfairs Park," he told the Basildon
Canvey Southend Echo (link is external). "Now there is a cycle rack gone on
it. This should be removed. This was not the agreement. It was agreed to
become parking. Why they put it here we do not know. They don't need
planning permission which boggles the mind as other cycle places usually
need planning permission.

"They have put this secure ugly cycle storage unit. Also, the colours, why
bright colours? Why not colour to blend in with surrounding? Who will use
them? How will you use them? There are no details. It is like they have
just been chucked around without any thought about the design, location, or
anything. It is just silly. I want this one in Belfairs to be removed, and
I will push to get it removed."

Likewise, some residents launched a Facebook pile-on when pictures of one
"absolute carbuncle of a shed" appeared. "Total eyesore, not in keeping
with area and totally ruins the view and atmosphere on this part of the
front," Chris DG wrote on the Southend City Discussion Group.

Other accusations of Southend Council wasting money, a lack of consultation
and the claimed detrimental impact on the sea views were heard before the
tone of the replies changed, numerous residents fed up with their fellow
locals' complaints.

"Not really the end of the world, is it? The toilet block down there is far
more hideous, has been an eyesore for decades, but nobody has moaned about
that," the top comment on the post from Dan Kudla now says.

"Chill out, man. People dying and starving and you're bothered about a bike
shed. You need to get your priorities straight, clearly you don't have a
lot to worry about in life," Cassi Macauley wrote.

"As if a bike shed ruins a whole area. Honestly, the stuff people get mad
about it crazy. There are literally people dying from war and sickness but
'oh no, not a bike shed'," another comment said.

The bike shelter row comes a month on from Southend Council's deputy leader
commenting on a consultation to impose stricter 'no cycling' rules in the
town centre, that could see cyclists being ordered to pay £100 for riding
on the high street, saying that "fining is one of the few options left".

It is proposed that a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) could be
introduced to enforce the cycling ban, following the lead of several other
towns and cities in the UK where cyclists can be stopped and fined for
breaching an order by cycling in prohibited areas.

Southend is also just the latest location to see a dispute over bike
storage shelters or hangars, road.cc having reported on numerous similar
situations across England in recent times.

Last summer, a section of Oxford residents hit out at on-street bike
hangars that appeared in three streets, the critics accusing the storage of
looking like "pigsties" and being "discriminatory to the disabled". Earlier
in the year, residents in Bath had claimed similar hangars, which were
branded "green measles", could threaten the city's Unesco World Heritage
status.

Those claims came despite Unesco's website noting that Bath "remains
vulnerable to transport pressures", with "improved transport" based around
public transport and pedestrianisation part of the management plan to
protect the city's integrity and authenticity as a World Heritage site.

And while cycling was not mentioned explicitly, the advised shift to
walking and a "bus-based network" implied the "need for improved transport"
will not be answered by overdependence on car use.

Brighton & Hove City Council is probably the local authority to have had
the roughest ride over introducing bike hangars to its area's streets.
NIMBY locals said they were "concerned and distressed" by "giant ugly" bike
hangars, residents furious that the storage facilities were taking up car
parking spaces, and leaving the Sun newspaper's coverage to call the scheme
"woke".

<https://road.cc/content/news/bike-shed-row-erupts-ugly-cycle-shelter-307979>

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Spike