A recent admittance from B&NES Council has led community leaders in Peasedown St John to express grave concerns over the safety of bus passengers throughout the area.
Last Autumn, a collision at the entrance to Ashgrove led to such severe damage to a well-used bus shelter that it was taken away and to-date hasn’t been replaced due to a ‘lack of funding’ in this year’s council budget.
The incident was followed by a joint investigation led by Cllr Karen Walker and Avon and Somerset Police to track down the driver of the vehicle. Without any witnesses, the perpetrator wasn’t found.
Cllr Karen Walker (Independent, Peasedown St John) said: “I’m extremely grateful to all the residents who helped out with the investigation, and in particular their desire to see the bus shelter replaced as soon as possible.
“Our investigation uncovered, to our surprise, that the shelter wasn’t insured by B&NES Council. In fact, none of the council’s bus shelters are covered by the local authority’s insurance policy!
“This is extremely worrying, considering the thousands of people who’ll walk under a bus shelter every day.”
The information was obtained via a Freedom of Information Request that was carried out by Peasedown St John Residents’ Association, who say many of their members use public transport frequently to travel to work.
Cllr Karen Walker and Cllr Sarah Bevan have written to the council asking for an insurance policy to be adopted, and for the funding to be made available to replace the shelter.
With concerns over the council’s lack of financial resources this year, Cllr Sarah Bevan (Independent, Peasedown St John) has asked the Cabinet to consider funding a shelter as part of the 2017/18 council budget.
She said: “It’s very unconvincing to learn that a large Unitary Authority apparently has no power to claim for incidents like this if the perpetrator fails to come forward and cannot be identified.
“I’m impressed that residents and my colleague Cllr Karen Walker are pursuing this issue.
“Meanwhile, to support the council’s own stated priorities, I’m very much hoping that the cabinet will pay for a new shelter in next year’s budget – this will encourage independence for our older and younger residents and enhanced use of public transport, and above all, putting our residents first in everything we do.”
