WORK has started to remove the steel canopy from outside The Arcade in Bournemouth town centre.

Scaffolding has been erected around the structure in Old Christchurch Road and workmen are on site.

The project to remove the 30-year-old canopy is scheduled to take a month.

BCP Council bosses sanctioned its removal after learning it was badly corroded.

They also described it as a health risk, because of all the pigeons that roost there.

On Monday the Daily Echo spoke to a people in the town centre to see how they felt about the structure being removed.

Bournemouth resident William Allen said: "It has become quite tired looking over time, so I for one will not be too sad to see it go.

"The Arcade is a really nice feature of the town centre and I think taking down this archway will make The Arcade look a lot more inviting actually."

Another resident said: "I'm going to miss it, it comes in quite handy when the weather is bad.

"You get a few buskers and those kinds underneath it when it rains, well you did before this Covid thing.

"There was clock here as well – I wonder what they are going to do with that?"

The clock, which is actually a 220lb replica of a pocket watch – presented in 1990 by the people of Lucerne in Switzerland to mark Bournemouth’s centenary – has been taken down and put into storage.

BCP Council has said it plans to renovate and relocate it somewhere else in the town.

Councillor Mike Greene, member for transport and sustainability – and town centre ward member – said: "We understand that some people may have affection for the canopy however removal is by far the best and most cost-effective option for the area.

"We look forward to providing shoppers with a more enhanced experience when they visit this part of Bournemouth town centre.”