Southend's bus station has become a blot on the landscape – and a magnet for drug addicts and drunks.

The Travel Centre in York Road is just ten years old, but has become dilapidated and is poorly maintained. Councillors on the public transport and buses working party have had enough.

Anne Jones, a member of the committee said: “The doors need repairing but this falls between one group who do maintenance and another responsible for infrastructure but it is not joined up.

“There is just a photocopied piece of paper saying the doors are out of order. It’s really unprofessional.

“It should give proper access to people. Also Arriva are our tenants. We need to offer appropriate facilities to visitors and to the people running their business there.

“It’s about improving the way it looks. I think the building has had its day even though it is only about ten years old. I think we need to be looking at something more appropriate. I don’t know why a more appropriate building wasn’t constructed at the time.”

The centre has been targeted by the homeless seeking shelter from the elements but residents have reported running the gauntlet of drunks and drug addicts. A security patrol has now been provided by the council to deter rough sleepers.

Councillor Stephen Aylen who is also on the traffic committee has also called for improvements to the town’s main bus centre.

He said: “The doors at the centre were not working properly and when we raised the issue with officers we were told the person responsible was on holiday. There are no excuses. Somebody else should have been dealing with it. The doors to the toilets weren’t also not working properly. The travel centre is the first point of contact with the town for bus passengers. It should be immaculate and it’s not.”

A spokesperson form Southend Council said: “We have taken the comments from the working party on board and are looking at our options for ensuring that any remedial work is carried out as cost-effectively as possible.”