Children spotted climbing scaffolding in High Street

A resident in the town photographed a number of children who had climbed the scaffold on July 25.

They could be seen climbing up the scaffold and along the roof of Hays Travel, and onto the roof of the neighbouring Poundland store.

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This comes as numerous councillors and residents have expressed concerns about the longevity of the works carried out.

The scaffolding on High Street was erected in June 2022 in front of Ark Hair Design and Ladbrokes. Over a year on, the scaffolding is still up with no confirmation of when the works to the face of the building will be completed.

Scaffolding on High Street, Left; Iris Andersen (Image: Matt Rooks Taylor, Canva)

The scaffolding has also resulted in the car parking spaces on High Street being temporarily closed, a number of which are disability bays.

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Borough councillor Iris Andersen said: "My main concern is the longer the scaffolding is erected, the more chance of an accident or something similar occurring. Do these young people not see the danger associated with playing on the scaffolding?

"This scaffolding has been up for a year now, but how much longer does it need to be up? It's a massive eyesore for residents and anyone visiting the town centre, and it has prevented people from using the parking bays, particularly the disability bays adjacent to the building. Other parking bays are available but the ones on High Street have been unusable for a significant amount of time.

"Not only that but the town businesses affected by the scaffolding must be absolutely beside themselves, having to live like this for such a long time."

A spokesperson for Test Valley Borough Council said: “It’s incredibly frustrating that scaffolding still surrounds this building. Not only does it make the High Street look unsightly, it has also impacted the disabled parking bays, which have had to be suspended and relocated. 

Having been disheartened by the apparent inactivity on site, the council wrote to the landlord back in February asking for a progress report. They responded stating that as Ladbrokes have a full repairing lease, it’s their responsibility to make the building good.

"We then wrote to Ladbrokes and chased them again recently but so far have had no response on when work might commence or be completed. We have also contacted their public affairs team, agitating for the scaffolding to be removed as soon as it is safe to do so.”