Paint the town black...and gold and red and...

The black paint peeling to reveal red paint underneath

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Less than two years ago Rochdale Borough Council spent over £50,000 painting street furniture black and gold, in an attempt to spruce up the town centre. However, a quick look at the state of the street furniture now shows the paint peeling badly, leaving the furniture looking in a state of disrepair and worse than before it was painted.

The 'make over' of benches, litter bins and bollards was part of a scheme to see all town centre street furniture painted black and gold, but despite the £50,000 spent, some street furniture did not get painted and some was left in a state of rotting disrepair, such as the lamp posts immediately in front of the Town Hall.

Public reaction at the time of the scheme was at best luke warm, now, realising the mess the street furniture is in, the reaction is stone cold.

Dawn Mercer said: "I thought spending that much on painting was bad enough but to see the state of the benches now makes me angry."

Andrew Clements added: "The workmanship is shoddy. If the Council contracted out the work then the Council should insist the contractors return and re-paint the furniture, this time with paint that will last longer than two years."

One town centre trader, who asked not to be named, said: "I supported the paint scheme because I thought it would improve the look of the town centre, and it did, but for a very short time before the paint started peeling. The benches are now a disgrace and look far worse than before they were painted."

Do you think the furniture looks a mess? Was it a waste of money?

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