credit;SWNS
A council has been accused of wasting £6,000 of taxpayers money building a brand new bus shelter – on a road where buses no longer run.
Residents were bemused when they noticed a rusty old pole being replaced by a brand new bus stop complete with a roof and seats earlier this month.
Red-faced council officials say they were unaware that the two buses a day service running along the road has been axed in March.
They have apologised for the gaffe.
A notice currently attached to the unused shelter, which is on Tickhill Road in Rotherham, South Yorks, reads: “Please note that this bus stop is no longer in use.”
Locals have slammed the council for wasting thousands of pounds that could have been spent elsewhere.
Resident Donna Marie Hallam, 40, said: “About two weeks ago I came home and saw eight workmen putting a new bus shelter up.
“At the time I didn’t know the route had stopped but before that buses only came down the road twice a day so it wouldn’t have been worth spending £6,000 on a stop.
“When I found out the route had stopped altogether, I couldn’t believe it, I just thought ‘what a complete waste of money’.
“There are so many important things to spend money on but they go and blow thousands on this.”
Pat Woodhouse, 67, from Rotherham, added: “What a waste of money, with the new time table it’s pointless.
“It would be better off somewhere a bus stop serves the local community.”
Ex-councillor Carol Stringer, who is in her 70s, said: “There’s no buses running along that road but they’ve gone and put a bus stop in, it’s ridiculous.
“I’ve been campaigning for the council to put a 20mph sign up on a nearby road used by lots of schoolchildren.
“They refuse to put that up but then go and spend £6,000 on a useless bus shelter, it’s unbelievable.”
The shelter was erected by workers from the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), which is supervised by the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority.
A SYPTE spokesman said plans for a new shelter on Tickhill Road were put in place as part of an agreement between the authority and a property developer.
At the time of the deal officials hadn’t yet arranged for a bus route to be moved from the residential road, the spokesman added.
They said: “We are reviewing our installation processes to prevent this, where possible, from happening again.”
It’s hoped SYPTE workers will be able to carefully remove the shelter on Tickhill Road and move it to nearby Hamilton Road, which is served by buses.
