Bike shed row erupts as "ugly" cycle shelter "ruins" sea view, according to some furious locals... although others tell critics to get their "priorities straight" as "it's hardly the end of the world"

The installation of some new bike parking shelters in one seaside community has triggered fervent debate, a portion of disgruntled residents up in arms about the "eyesore" structures that they believe "ruins" the sea views. On the other hand, the complaints have been met by rolled eyes from some locals who have argued it is "not really the end of the world" and the outraged "clearly don't have a lot to worry about in life" if they are "bothered about a bike shed".

Southend Council is installing seven bicycle parking sheds, including some on the seafront, with the project financed by the Department for Transport's Active Travel Fund. Planning permission was not necessary as the sheds have been installed under permitted development rights, a section of the community voicing its displeasure at the appearance of the shelters.

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Leading the way is Stephen Aylen, a non-aligned councillor for Southend-on-Sea Borough Council who questioned why the "ugly and out of place" structures had been built, especially when he believed the land at the Belfairs Park site was going to be turned into four car parking spaces.

"We have had five meetings to discuss parking for the shops. One of the solutions we came up with to increase parking was to add four parking spaces on already existing ground in Belfairs Park," he told the Basildon Canvey Southend Echo. "Now there is a cycle rack gone on it. This should be removed. This was not the agreement. It was agreed to become parking. Why they put it here we do not know. They don't need planning permission which boggles the mind as other cycle places usually need planning permission.

"They have put this secure ugly cycle storage unit. Also, the colours, why bright colours? Why not colour to blend in with surrounding? Who will use them? How will you use them? There are no details. It is like they have just been chucked around without any thought about the design, location, or anything. It is just silly. I want this one in Belfairs to be removed, and I will push to get it removed."

Likewise, some residents launched a Facebook pile-on when pictures of one "absolute carbuncle of a shed" appeared. "Total eyesore, not in keeping with area and totally ruins the view and atmosphere on this part of the front," Chris DG wrote on the Southend City Discussion Group.

Other accusations of Southend Council wasting money, a lack of consultation and the claimed detrimental impact on the sea views were heard before the tone of the replies changed, numerous residents fed up with their fellow locals' complaints.

"Chill out, man. People dying and starving and you're bothered about a bike shed."

"Not really the end of the world, is it? The toilet block down there is far more hideous, has been an eyesore for decades, but nobody has moaned about that," the top comment on the post from Dan Kudla now says.

"Chill out, man. People dying and starving and you're bothered about a bike shed. You need to get your priorities straight, clearly you don't have a lot to worry about in life," Cassi Macauley wrote.

"As if a bike shed ruins a whole area. Honestly, the stuff people get mad about it crazy. There are literally people dying from war and sickness but 'oh no, not a bike shed'," another comment said.

The bike shelter row comes a month on from Southend Council's deputy leader commenting on a consultation to impose stricter 'no cycling' rules in the town centre, that could see cyclists being ordered to pay £100 for riding on the high street, saying that "fining is one of the few options left".

It is proposed that a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) could be introduced to enforce the cycling ban, following the lead of several other towns and cities in the UK where cyclists can be stopped and fined for breaching an order by cycling in prohibited areas.

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Southend is also just the latest location to see a dispute over bike storage shelters or hangars, road.cc having reported on numerous similar situations across England in recent times.

Last summer, a section of Oxford residents hit out at on-street bike hangars that appeared in three streets, the critics accusing the storage of looking like "pigsties" and being "discriminatory to the disabled". Earlier in the year, residents in Bath had claimed similar hangars, which were branded "green measles", could threaten the city's Unesco World Heritage status.

Those claims came despite Unesco's website noting that Bath "remains vulnerable to transport pressures", with "improved transport" based around public transport and pedestrianisation part of the management plan to protect the city's integrity and authenticity as a World Heritage site.

And while cycling was not mentioned explicitly, the advised shift to walking and a "bus-based network" implied the "need for improved transport" will not be answered by overdependence on car use.

Brighton & Hove City Council is probably the local authority to have had the roughest ride over introducing bike hangars to its area's streets. NIMBY locals said they were "concerned and distressed" by "giant ugly" bike hangars, residents furious that the storage facilities were taking up car parking spaces, and leaving the Sun newspaper's coverage to call the scheme "woke".