I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the debacle at Sheringham Bus Shelter and the chaos caused by Norfolk County Council. It’s hard not to feel slightly sorry for Graham Plant, the Cabinet member responsible, he didn’t come to Sheringham to explain what had happened, he refused to appear on social media and he refused TV appearances, all leading to international coverage of the situation, including input from Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, Heidi Alexander, the Secretary of State for Transport, and Have I Got News For You. This was meant to be something that Norfolk County Council could deliver for the people of Sheringham, not find themselves a laughing stock.
In a meeting of Norfolk County Council, he said that the bus stop would now have to be shut as it was too near the pavement. However, he neatly blamed Sanders for this, saying they had said it was dangerous.
The bus shelter is safe, although Norfolk County Council appears to have lost the bench. Well, who needs to sit down anyway?
It’s a nice mural, it’s always positive to have an image of a train in a bus shelter. It’s still not clear to me why this bus shelter needed to be demolished, it could have been decommissioned in favour of the new one that would have likely pleased most people.
There was a nice green area here before with benches, but this is what Norfolk County Council has left. The site for the new bus shelter is visible at the rear on the right.
Some of those are memorial benches that are in memory of local people, they are no doubt important to family members and friends. That Norfolk County Council believes this is entirely acceptable is fairly shameful in my humble opinion. It could be argued by the council that it’s not their fault, but the Prime Minister encouraged them to get on with finishing the project in a way that pleased residents. They’ve decided that they will reject the views of the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Transport, which seems brave to say the least.
What a lovely gift to Sheringham Town Council this is.
It would have been relatively easy to complete the project whilst keeping the old bus shelter, but Norfolk County Council decided on this as the resolution. I deliberately don’t engage too openly in politics on this blog, but this might haunt the Conservative Party at future elections.