Wickes criticised for concrete bollards placed on crossings

Wickes, based in Millennium Court, Churchill Way West, has installed several concrete bollards around the entrance to the store's car park in the middle of February.

The concrete bollards are there to hold in place a number of gates which have been installed at the entrance and exit to the car park.

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Although not confirmed, it is thought that the gates and bollards have been put in place after a 'tank' was parked outside the store in Basingstoke by an unhappy customer.

As previously reported, Paul Gibbons, 63, from Kingsclere, had been looking to install a new kitchen in his property, enquiring to numerous businesses before approaching Wickes in Basingstoke in February 2023 to carry out the work.

The bollards have been put in place for gates to be installed at the car parks entrance and exit (Image: Newsquest)

The kitchen, which cost £25,000, was intended to be fitted to a high-quality standard within two weeks, but 11 months later Paul is still trying to get issues rectified.

The tank appeared on Wednesday, December 27, and 14 days later on Tuesday, January 9, a Gazette reporter visited the store and saw it is still there. The vehicle itself was a 1963 Abbot self-propelled gun.

The stories received a lot of attention in the national and international media, with news outlets as far as Australia covering the news. The tank was removed on Tuesday, February 6 with the concrete bollards and gates installed around a week after.

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The concrete bollards have caused quite a stir on Facebook, with numerous people complaining that the move had discriminated against people with disabilities, with the concrete bollards blocking the dropped kerb pavement access to the store, causing difficulties for visually impaired people and wheelchair users.

A Gazette reporter visited Wickes on Wednesday, February 21 and spoke to a number of people in the area for their views on the matter.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I don't think Wickes have done it to disrupt anyone's access to the store, but putting the bollards on the dropped kerb crossing is very short-sighted by them.

"It could cause physical or mental distress to any pedestrians coming towards the store, which isn't right. It's not their fault after all."

Wickes was contacted for comment but it did not respond before going to print.