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Street planters dubbed April Fools' joke by locals

Nathan Bevan & Clare Dutton
BBC News, South East
BBC Large wooden street planters, alongside a red "road closed" sign, in The Square, Shere.BBC
One person said the planters "totally eclipsed" the village's ancient oak tree

Residents in a Surrey village made famous by a Hollywood film have slammed the council's decision to place "ugly, awful" planters in its square.

Locals in Shere, Guildford, which featured in the 2006 rom-com The Holiday starring Jude Law and Cameron Diaz, have said the wooden boxes ruin the location's look and feel.

The planters were introduced as part of a plan to pedestrianise a section of the village but one person described it as "an early April Fools' joke" which looked like "packing crates randomly dumped off the back of a lorry."

A Surrey county councillor said the planters were "an experiment" and something "more appropriate" would eventually replace them.

Councillor Bob Hughes said the planters were enormous

On its website, Surrey County Council said the planters were recently introduced as part of a scheme to "create a pedestrianised area and introduce a seating area for residents to use" in Shere's The Square.

But, while many were in favour of the idea to regulate traffic and "improve child and pedestrian safety", few supported how it had been carried out.

"The execution has been terrible," said Rita Lewis, who has lived in the village for 15 years.

"This is a conservation area and so beautiful, but these huge intrusive planters totally eclipse that - especially the ancient oak that's its centrepiece."

B&B owner Lawrence Carr said many of his guests had told him the wooden boxes "spoiled" Shere's appeal.

Speaking to BBC Surrey, a group of walkers also called the newly-pedestrianised area opposite the White Horse pub "an eyesore".

"Retractable bollards would have been better," said one woman.

Bob Hughes, councillor for Surrey County Council and Guildford Borough Council, agreed and said the planters were "far too big" and that "more appropriate ones will be going in instead".

He said they are part of a temporary trial to pedestrianise the village square "like we had back at the start of the pandemic".

He added: "Twice people were consulted and they were all for it, but they just hate these planters... preserving the look and feel of the village is an important issue."

Surrey County Council said the size of the planters was for "stabilty" and "visibilty", adding that it was "listening to feedback from residents and examining possible alternatives".

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