Early one morning prior to lockdown, contractors working for
SWR» staged a dawn raid and removed three benches from the unused platform at Templecombe station. These were
NSE▸ era benches, and there were five in total, all firmly bolted to the old platform. It looks as though attempts were made to remove all five, but two stubbornly refused to be seperated from the platform. No details of the job were given to the local manager. The Friends of Templecombe Station (FoTS), who care for and maintain the fixtures and fittings on the unused platform side, were not informed either. They had maintained and painted these benches.
As there was no local communication that this removal work was going to take place, it was initially thought the benches may have been stolen for their scrap metal value. It was only after a member of the permanent way team for the area saw social media posts and commented about seeing the work order, was it learnt locally that SWR were responsible for the removal.
It is still unclear who made the decision, and there's been no explanation given to FoTS or the local manager.
The saga continues however. A person in Hook, Hampshire, had seen the social media posts about the missing Templecombe Station benches and contacted the FoTS. Two of the three benches taken from Templecombe have been repainted and installed at Hook Station.
One of our benches is still missing.