Temporary benches which have been now been removed from a town have left traders with mixed feelings.

The seats were put in Middle Row and Bank Street in Ashford in August in a bid to brighten up the town.

But the removal of the benches a couple of weeks ago has left traders with divided opinions.

Darren Hume, the owner of Tailor Made Mobility in Middle Row, says he was not angry when the benches were places outside his shop, he was confused as to why he and fellow traders had not been informed.

"It definitely affected my business," he said.

"Customers had complained to me they'd had to walk from the other side of town to find a disabled parking bay to be able to come and see me, because there was only two outside the shop.

"Having them not there now is going to make it easier for my customers.

"Having them there, didn't make any difference - I saw people using them, but I would say 90% of the time someone was sat there, they worked in Middle Row.

He added, he was not notified to give feedback on the benches.

"I had to ring to be sent the survey feedback," he said.

"They didn't ask us what we thought prior to putting them up, or what effect it would have on our businesses.

"Between the bandstand and the flower bed is where all the coffee shops are, why didn't they put them there?"

But the benches in Bank Street have been welcomed by hospitality businesses.

Bahar Atilgan from Salata says she really likes seeing Bank Street busy.

"It was good to offer people somewhere to sit outside," she said.

"We have a good amount of takeaways in town and I think if people are out enjoying themselves, having food, it's a good way to cancel out anti-social behaviour.

"It doesn't give space for not so good things to happen. I feel like it's bringing light to the darkness, and the colours of the benches were great.

"We really need this after Covid. We need to be out and about and this is inviting people out to town and around other people.

"Sometimes it's nice to even hear someone else having a conversation if you are alone eating your food.

"It's encouraging."

She added one of the concerns with the benches was they would encourage vandalism.

"I haven't observed anything major - if anything," she said.

"It made it more safe and I'd see families sitting having their food. It's a nice thing to see people out and enjoying themselves."

Nextdoor to Salata is The Little Teacup, and Jacqui Geen from the cafe, says her and Salata asked for two benches to stay from the project.

"Initially, I didn't think it was going to be a good thing," Jacqui Geen said.

"But once they were there, we could see people using them.

"I think it was definitely a good thing and that's why we asked for two to stay so people could still enjoy them.

"For the sake of the business, the two are enough, but the others were a nicety - especially during the summer.

"I know that some people found it challenging because they took away the parking spaces, so I don't know if there's a way to try and keep both.

"For now we're happy they have left the two benches so we're grateful for that."

A spokesperson from Ashford Borough Council says the 10-week temporary furniture project was successful.

"Evaluation forms went out to local businesses in the area to gain their feedback," they said.

"Early responses suggest that this was a well-loved and valued scheme and it is clear that these businesses wish for the project to happen again next year, and run for a longer period of time.

"As a result of early feedback, two of the colourful benches that were part of the scheme will now remain in situ on Bank Street as requested by businesses.

"We are in the process of continuing to collate feedback and will release these results soon."