Rochdale Council spend £3,500 on 28 poles

The council spent £3,500 on these poles

After knocking down the old bus station and the black box, Rochdale Council has installed 28 poles in between the two former sites at a cost of £3,500.

Mark Widdup, Director of Economy and Environment, said: “The wooden poles perform two functions - they provide a physical barrier to vehicles between the car park and the former black box site and to create a visual art feature.”

Rochdale Online spoke to people in Rochdale Town Centre to see what they thought.

Matthew Kelly said: “It is a monstrosity. It’s shocking.”

Jawairyah Mukhtar said: “That’s a lot of money. I would definitely not spend that much. It’s ridiculous, especially when they have to save so much.”

Harriet Jackson said: “They look like they shouldn’t be there.”

Adam Farrand said: “What? Really? I wasn’t really bothered by them but they’re definitely not what I consider art. Surely they could have spent £3,500 on something else.”

Victor Schofield said: “I don’t really know what to think. Someone is clearly getting paid a lot more than I ever did.”

Carol Wells said: “I wasn’t even aware of them until you pointed them out. I appreciate art and I did art at college but I think some modern art is a con. I don’t think they should have paid that much.”