SURREY County Council is under mounting pressure to replace a row of unsightly bollards outside Farnham library - at a cost of more than £10,000 to the taxpayer.

The presence of 11 bollards at the library in West Street has long proved a sore point for local councillors, who claim they fall short of the standards set out in the Farnham Conservation Area Management Plan (FCAMP).

However, five years on from their installation in 2013, the county council has, says councillor Andy MacLeod, at long last admitted its mistake and is now discussing their replacement with local members.

Mr MacLeod told last week’s meeting of Farnham Town Council that, following discussions with Surrey’s library service delivery manager Liz Hart, both Surrey and Waverley Borough Council’s conservation officers “agreed there is a case for replacing the bollards”.

The Farnham Residents county councillor for Farnham Central added Surrey has provided two quotes for the works, ranging from £9,994 to £14,299 plus VAT, but said who will fund the work remains to be discussed.

Town council leader Carole Cockburn was in no doubt who she thought should pay to replace the bollards, however, commenting: “It’s their desecration, they did it, so they put it right and they pay. It’s as simple as that.”