Bus users left out in the cold by missing shelters (From Echo)

Bus users left out in the cold by missing shelters

11:30am Monday 15th March 2010 in

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A CAMPAIGNER has called on Southend Council to replace bus shelters which were removed last year, leaving travellers out in the cold.

Donald Fraser, chairman of Southend Bus Users’ Group, urged the council to quickly replace shelters in Leigh, Westcliff and Southchurch.

The shelters were removed after a contract with advertising company Adshel, which supplied them, came to an end.

Southend Council pledged to replace shelters within weeks, but the work has been hit by delays, leading to criticism over the way it has managed the project.

Mr Fraser said: “The council decided to replace all the shelters which held adverts and it has ordered them from Sweden.

“But the company ran out and we are having to wait for the rest of the shelters to arrive.

“I don’t know why the council didn’t buy British.”

Several shelters were removed from Leigh in December, and a shelter outside Westcliff library has apparently been missing for six months.

The shelter, near St Clement’s Church, in Broadway West, Leigh, was removed on December 1, and is still missing.

Mr Fraser, who is also a Leigh town councillor, said: “We have been waiting ever since. When we asked about it we were told it would be replaced on March 17, which is a lot longer than the two weeks originally promised.”

The situation has led to several complaints to the town council from disgruntled residents.

Mr Fraser said: “We have been getting lots of complaints and people feel very let down.

“In the worst winter for 20 years, it has been a terrible situation.

“People have been waiting for weeks to see them replaced, and have been getting soaked while they wait for the bus.”

Mehmet Mazhar, Southend Council’s group manager for traffic and highways, said: “We are currently involved in a programme of reviewing and replacing bus shelters because the contract ended with the company which previously provided the shelters.

“We are replacing some shelters and adding a number of new ones across the borough. The shelters are bigger and better than those previously in place.”

Mr Mazhar added shelters would be installed in Southchurch Road, Southend town centre, Leigh and at Southend Hospital over the next four weeks, with a total of 50 installed by the end of the month.

Some shelters judged to be no longer necessary will not be replaced. Those in areas undergoing development, including Marine Parade and Victoria Square, in Southend, will only be replaced once all works are complete.