Thursday 24th October 2024
A row has broken out between Padstow Town Council and Cornwall Council/Transport for Cornwall/Go Cornwall Bus over buses terminating on the Town Council’s land in the car park by the former railway station in the town.
It sounded an ideal job for BusAndTrainUser Verify to investigate, especially as the Town Council has stated its notice for buses to quit “expires on Sunday 17 November 2024” with the bus stop “expected to be removed w/c 18 November 2024”.
The Town Council says “unfortunately the Railway Car Park Bus Stop can no longer cope, it is not fit for purpose and is unsafe”.
There’s no information about what the alternative arrangements will be.
Here’s the Town Council’s statement;
Go Cornwall Bus has also issued a statement that it’s “deeply concerned” about the upcoming eviction calling it “disproportionate in its severity” with “thousands of passengers” facing “the challenge of walking up and down a steep hill, which will undoubtedly cause unnecessary hardship, particularly for those with mobility issues, the elderly, and families”.
The BBC picked up on the story last week following a protest by passengers outside the Town Council’s offices coincidentally located directly opposite the controversial bus stop. As you can see, the RMT union, which represents bus drivers in the area, is also backing the protests.
I travelled down to Padstow on Monday to take a look at the situation and establish exactly what the safety concerns are as Padstow Town Council has noticeably not specified any, other than to say the bus stop is “not fit for purpose and is unsafe”.
Buses approach the terminus down the aforementioned “steep hill” called Station Road from those halcyon days (pre January 1967) when there was a station in the town.
It now just leads to the car park sited on former railway land. After passing the bus stop (on the right)…
… buses do a clockwise tour of the car park (to turn round)…
… avoiding pedestrians…
… and cars reversing out of spaces…
… and return to layover at the bus stop at the bottom of the “steep hill”.
After laying over at the bus stop, buses continue back up Station Road on their next journey.
Two all year round bus routes operated by Go Cornwall Bus for Cornwall Council/Transport for Cornwall terminate in Padstow. Hourly route 11 to Wadebridge and Bodmin with a two-hourly extension to Liskeard and Plymouth and route 56 to Newquay with 10/11 departures roughly every hour
First Bus also runs its open top Atlantic Coaster from Padstow to Newquay during the summer season with an hourly frequency in the summer half term week and school holiday and a reduced frequency in mid season (every 75 minutes) and low season (four departures).
I’ve tried to assess what the Town Council’s concerns are.
It could be because the area set aside for passengers to wait is fairly restricted. The Council says “it can no longer cope”.
There’s a bus shelter and a ‘bus length’ worth of paving leading to a bollard.
I would imagine for most departures this is adequate for the numbers travelling.
But if not, passengers end up waiting at the side of the road, which isn’t ideal but the road only leads to a car park, and motorists walk in the road and between the cars in the car park which could be said to be just as dangerous.
It could be that when two buses layover at similar times there’s not enough room for everyone waiting and passengers waiting in the road will be standing where the second bus comes to a stand.
Two buses were on stand on Monday afternoon when the bus on route 11 arrived at 13:26 for its nine minutes layover departing at 13:35. This overlaps with the 13:27 arrival on route 56 for its 13 minutes layover until 13:40 but everyone waiting could do so on the pavement.
Two buses are also have overlapping layovers at 11:27 and 12:27.
In the high summer the Atlantic Coaster had stand time between 36 and 50 minutes past each hour which would have coincided for around five minutes with route 56 buses every hour between 10:35 and 17:42.
In the low season (mid April to mid May) one journey on the Atlantic Coaster arrived at 13:21 and departed at 13:30 meaning for three minutes (13:27 to 13:30) there would likely have been three buses at the stop – one on each route.
I’ve no doubt on a lovely sunny summer’s day this would have led to quite a crowd queuing for in the restricted space with three buses all in situ at once.
But, an easy way round this would be to arrange for the Atlantic Coaster to observe a bus stop by the entrance to the car park where I saw a bus on route 11 set down passengers during my visit.
A bit of imagination could easily solve that situation.
A more minor concern of the Town Council could be because a bus waiting at the bus stop parks over a crossing marked on the road, which isn’t an ideal arrangement.
However in reality I doubt passengers use this as firstly it’s not a properly signed pedestrian crossing and secondly the area is characterised by people crossing anywhere, reflecting the fact the road only goes to the car park so isn’t very busy.
The Council’s defeatist attitude of evicting the buses is “not fit for purpose” (to use its phrase re the bus stop). Instead the Council should be offering alternatives and there’s another obvious one and that’s to allocate some of the land currently used for car parking…
… to make for an expanded space for buses to layover and passengers to wait with decent facilities/shelter/seating – there are no seats in the existing shelter.
It’s concerning to read the Town Council’s complaint that despite raising its concerns with Cornwall Council and bus operators “for two years” because it’s “not a stakeholder” nothing has happened. It says it has “been unsuccessful in encouraging a collaborative review of the bus stop”. Cornwall Council has been awash with funds to spend on public transport these last few years so it’s surprising a joint solution with the Town Council to create much better facilities for terminating buses in Padstow hasn’t been implemented. The current “cliff edge” on 18th November doesn’t reflect well on any of the parties involved. The Town Council was forced to give three months notice (to evict the buses) when “a further bus route new service was registered at the start of the summer” but that would have been the Atlantic Coaster returning for its usual summer season.
Ironically there are six spaces marked out for use by coaches round the corner from the entrance to the car park. These involve reversing in or out of with inherent safety risks as pedestrians wander around the area.
I’d say these probably aren’t “fit for purpose” either and I bet over a year, buses bring many more tourists and visitors to Padstow than coaches, so the Council would do well to make available similar space for buses too.
Having motorists and their passengers wandering around the car park with no designated walking routes could also be said to be “not fit for purpose” in today’s risk aware environment but doesn’t seem to worry the Town Council.
While I was on site on Monday I met Sue who was collecting signatures for a petition calling on the Council to back down. She was doing a roaring trade among the passengers boarding the 56 and even the driver signed.
I asked if she knew what the alternative arrangements will be from 18th November which is only just over three weeks away.
She said nobody knows and pointed out the Town Council has pulled the shutters down (literally) on its offices opposite the bus stop and refuses to discuss the matter.
I’ve had a look at what practical alternatives there might be in the immediate future. None are suitable in one way or another.
One option might be for buses to use Dennis Road and Sarah’s Lane …
… to turn on a circular arrangement (marked in red on the map above) . However, this won’t go down well with residents living on these roads, which aren’t really suitable for buses and there’s no obvious place for buses to layover. Furthermore there’s parking on both sides of part of Dennis Road which would need to be restricted if buses stood a chance of getting through and I can’t see that going down well.
In any event, for passengers it’ll mean an inconvenient walk down into the town and harbour area and back up again.
Having looked further around the town a better solution might be to route buses around the B3276 (Church Street) (marked in green on the map) taking them right into the heart of the town centre itself and, controversial I know, but do away with (or relocate) three disabled parking bays to create space for buses to stop and layover.
This would give a better arrangement for bus passengers, dropping them off and picking them up in a very convenient location very close to the harbour too.
But, again, the road is very narrow and although historically Cornwall has seen buses use restricted roads (think Mousehole) I don’t think it’s really suitable for double decks.
My concern is the only practical alternative is for buses to do a loop on the B3276 and A389 (marked in purple on the map below) which would be the worst of all worlds keeping passengers away from the heart of the town centre and the harbour unless they’re fit and healthy and enjoy a walk up and down a steep hill.
In the absence of (a) knowing what the Town Council’s detailed and specific concerns are and (b) what alternative arrangement is actually going to happen from 18th November it’s difficult to comment or verify anything further.
Finally, here’s an aerial photo courtesy of Google to summarise the situation.
What I can definitely verify is there’s been a breakdown in communications between the parties and by the look of Padstow Town Council’s shuttered offices this seems to be continuing which sadly looks like passengers are going to be severely inconvenienced. It’s disappointing to see cars will have triumphed over buses thanks to a failure to communicate and resolve differences.
A sorry state of affairs but let’s hope the next three weeks brings the “collaborative resolution” the Town Council reckon has been lacking.
Roger French
Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS
Comments on today’s blog are welcome but please keep them relevant to the blog topic, avoid personal insults and add your name (or an identifier). Thank you.
BusAndTrainUser 
Or, the bus companies just keep to the main road and don’t go down to the town at all – having first circulated every business and household in the area that will not be served. I am sure that if the situation was explained to those affected there would be a new town council at the next election.
I would also use an FOI request to view all of the communication that the Town Council has instigated.
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Does the Town Council have the ability to ban buses? It’s not a highway authority, and any size restriction would also ban coaches. And any such move needs to be published in a certain way to conform with legal requirements. There also seems to be no response/comment from Cornwall County Council who are the Highway authority.
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I think the point is that the car park is their private land.
So they can ban whomever they wish because they are the landowner. Highway authority rights not needed.
Stephen
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There looks to be plenty of room. It just means there would be a bit less car parking space with some small loss of revenue to the town council
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Typical. Funds available for public transport and it gets treated like this by the council. Shame on them
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Unfortunately “the car is king” much to the detriment of buses & pedestrians in many towns these days 🙁
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Perhaps the Town Council has a few points on its side: it’s obviously miffed that it has not been able to have a say, and also that, having made objections, nobody is taking any notice of them. I think your comments are right about using the car-park space more fairly between buses/passengers and cars/motorists. The council is probably worried about car park fees lost, and the reaction of shop-keepers. Maybe the bus companies could talk to one another (I know they hate doing this) and agree timetables which avoid overlaps at this stop. Maybe also, they could jointly (again, I know they hate this – but perhaps, if the council really forces the issue, and they are facing loss of passengers/money, an agreed scheme between bus operators could be a silver lining for us bus-users) they could offer, in exchange for the council allotting buses a bigger share of the space (and, who knows, some improvements like seating) to double the buses and offer a good service evenings and weekends. This would mean that some people at least might give up their cars; it is forgotten that cars are expensive and some hassle to buy and keep on the road, and with more buses bringing custom, perhaps the shopkeepers would also be happy. But it would mean the bus managers looking at improving the network and connections, and dropping their usual insistance that each route must be economic on its own.
I do hope this doesn’t descend into an ‘ignorant politicians should leave buses to the professionals’ type of row. Some councillors do know about buses, particularly from the bus-user point of view, and some bus managers spend very little time actually travelling their patch to see the issues first hand. The professionals have been in charge for quite a long time now, with – shall we say – mixed results.
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Having the buses arrive and depart around the same time means that passengers can easily and conveniently make connections between the two routes. If we are serious about integrated transport then that’s a valuable piece of the puzzle.
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In general I agree absolutely, but I think in this specific case the buses actually meet further back in the route – at least at the top of the steep hill. Again, perhaps if the row with the town council escalates this enough, perhaps someone at the county council could provide some good passenger information and seating etc. at some stop all the buses call at!
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Quite, and there are likely lots of other places where clashes may be an issue and the fewer constraints on timings the better.
If this was Switzerland all
the buses would arrive and leave around the same times anyway, and sufficient space would be provided as a given!
Stephen H
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The loop around Sarah’s Lane used to be the route forvthe Wadebridge bus. Not sure why it got taken off, but local users were not happy about loosing it.
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Talking about the total failure of Padstow Town council to make any specific points at all but just generalised concerns about safety and that something is “untenable”, all of which could be said with equal justification about the car park, I would say that the balance is very much in favour at least in this case in favor of the bus operators who at least know something about operating buses and not the politicians.
I do find there’s often a kind of prejudice at work even by the most progressive sounding politicians, albeit that it’s usually an unconscious one. Again and again buses lose out in urban realms schemes, cycling schemes and of course road schemes, with the politicians selecting from some spectrum of fashionable concerns which includes environmental safety and indeed who owns the buses (not a primary factor in public transport attractiveness) to supposedly justify their interventions.
And so often they do this without much regard for the things which ARE in their powers, such as providing bus priority measures and reorganising even reducing car parking in some cases. And for goodness sake, it’s quite obvious that have wider bus stop could be provided in this instance – which is entirely within the remit of Padstow Town council as the landowner! They can’t have it both ways!
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I’m wary of wading in to a safety matter but having used this stop a few times I feel able to comment. Firstly, the Town Council must make their specific safety concerns clear. They may be very valid but the lack of specifics in their public communication is suspicious. Could there be a ‘we don’t like buses’ aspect to this. By the way, there is a similar situation in Southwold, with an unnecessary (?) ban on buses in the town centre which affected me recently, which I’ve contacted them (and the County Council and the local bus user group) about.
Secondly, bus passengers are poorly served by the facilities at the Padstow bus stop – it’s a tight and relatively unpleasant space. I’m fairly sure there is adequate room on the overall site to provide a mini bus station with space for three buses and a new, more pleasant bus shelter. All it needs is commitment by the Town Council as landowner and the loss of a few car parking spaces.
I like the alternative idea of routing buses through the town centre, stopping by the harbour, as it’s a bit of a walk from the current bus stop, but like Roger I can’t really see that working.
Let’s hope sense prevails, the safety concerns are made clear and resolved, and bus passengers aren’t treated as second-class citizens!
Stephen H
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I don’t know Padstow but looking on google maps it would not be difficult to build a roundabout to turn the buses safely, Probably need to extend the waiting area at the stop but that does not look as if it would be difficult to do
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Looks to me that’s it’s a simple case of Padstow Town Council being anti-bus. As Roger has highlighted, there are plenty of possible solutions to improve the arrangement at the terminus.
Residents know what to do at the next town council elections!
Steve
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why improve facilities for bus passengers when you can encourage more cars and make money from Town Council Car Park? Also note the TC charges Blue Badge holders!
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Update: a quick check on Traveline SW reveals that the 56 will travel via the B3276 and A389, terminating at “Subway” (an actual subway rather than the fast food chain). I assume the 11 will do the same.
As for the Atlantic Coaster, First are in the process of transferring their E400 open toppers from Cornwall to Weymouth…
Steve
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Oh dear, what a sorry tale! I’m surprised this kind of thing doesn’t happen more often given the number of bus stops across the country that are on private land (shopping centres, business parks etc).
I think it’s easy to make the Town Council the villain of the piece, but it would appear that lots of heads have been buried in a fair bit of sand here hoping the issue would go away.
I do wonder whether the TC have been at the receiving end of personal injury claims relating to the bus stop? It does happen – I recall a claim coming into a LA because someone alighted from a bus that couldn’t pull up to the kerb because of parked cars and the passenger unfortunately damaged their ankle whilst alighting on to the carriageway. If this is the case, it’s also easy to see how the TC’s legal advisors may have recommended the removal of the bus stop given an individual claim, which whether upheld or not, can start at four figures. As landowner, this is may be seen as an unacceptable risk. Contrary to what other commentators have said, the TC may not be in a position to reveal the extent of claims, even via an FOI enquiry, given the nature of any ongoing proceedings or even at risk of encouraging ‘copycat’ approaches.
Having said the above, it does appear that the TC has been less than enthusiastic about re-arranging facilities on its land to help solve the situation. What doesn’t help here is that, as is often the case, the pedestrian crossing is not lined-out to highway specification (no approaching zig-zags, beacons etc), so this probably doesn’t assist the management of the site.
Dan Tancock
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I last visited Padstow in 2023 and came away unimpressed with the location of the bus “terminal” in the town. But this is not unusual for coastal communities.
Looking at the photos, it would not be difficult (or cost very much) to improve the current facilities to provide a safe solution to suit the requirements of 2024 (rather than 1984 as it looks currently). Roger French has made some sensible comments; I hope that they take notice of them.
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My suspicion is that the councillors don’t like/want buses standing outside their offices. Once the bus stop is removed it will most likely be replaced by special parking bays for councillors use only.
My advice to the locals would be to transfer their trade to other towns, using the buses to access them of course. This would be to Newquay, Wadebridge and Bodmin’s benefit until a new council can be elected and this situation reversed.
Given what’s been happening at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire I’m surprised that the coach bays are also not under threat – maybe they will be next!
Richard Warwick
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If this stop is unsafe god knows what they’d make of hundreds more in this country, it’s foolish and unless the town want to put on a town circular it’s a further disadvantage to those less able, Ultimately “car brain” is promminent across the country and if you point out their flaws your called a clown or R***ded,
A Frustraited autie,
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There is just one thing not fit for purpose and that Padstow vTown Council .
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As someone who now uses a stick after being hit from behind by a vehicle while waiting at a bus stop, there is a problem with the crossing and the bus stop. The solution is to move one or both, not stop the buses.
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Petty small town politics are a joy to behold.
They could easily make more space for the buses by losing a few car parking spaces and extending the waiting area to match. They could give up some of the staff parking spaces to compensate. If they then feel the road will be too narrow then they can divert the pavement on the old station side of the road where the bus stop is so that it runs behind the bollards and metal fence directly outside the old station building and widen the road there. And remove move the crossing maskrkings completely as they are only “advisory”.
I suspect it’s all down to revenue from the car park. If the buses don’t run to a convenient location then more people will derive and pay to park.
Personally, I would go elsewhere as the town is already over-Stenified and over priced.
MKIan
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Similar safety concerns happened in Chippenham, Wiltshire back in the 1990s. The bus station had been given over to car parking with a few drive through bays fir buses but no safety barriers. A health and safety audit following a bus runaway at Bristol bus station resulted in the car parking being totally removed and the bus station was restored to how it once was with drive on reverse off bays, a shelter, safety barriers and gates, and layover spaces.
The logical solution in Padstow is to commandeer the car park, and build a bus turning circle, bus shelters and layover space, plus coach parking. No car parking! This would accord with Padstow Councils “climate emergency ” declaration, most LAs have these but seem reluctant to tackle the main contributer to carbon emissions that is road traffic.
Peter Brown
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I’ve had a look at the Town Council’s website and found the following item which at least gives some details on their specific concerns. https://padstow-tc.gov.uk/2024/10/03-10-24-railway-car-park-bus-stop/
There is also a very recent update on their News page mentioning that a meeting is taking place this week and that the item will be on the agenda of next week’s full Council meeting (at a larger venue!) https://padstow-tc.gov.uk/2024/10/23-10-24-railway-car-park-bus-stop/
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The first article above does explain a bit more about the overall site, being not just a car park, although I disagree that the solution needs to be (as the Town Council have put) a change in frequency and scheduling.
Let’s hope everyone is a winner out of this!
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The above two comments are from me Stephen H
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Great to see such long queues waiting for buses, as shown in the photos provided by the Town Council. Unfortunately activities such as car drivers reversing out of parking spaces and overtaking stationary vehicles without due care and attention mean that there is a need to separate cars and pedestrians. Fortunately there is other parking available in the town to replace the current car park, so converting that into an improved bus facility should not be an issue.
Gareth Cheeseman
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if the bus is registered and routed via station road and the car park then why can’t they simply declare that particular section as ‘hail and ride?’. after all, buses and coaches have not been banned from using the routes.
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Hail and Ride would not work there as all routes which serve the stop terminate there. And also it’s the key stop in the town, and lots of people use it (see some of the photos in the Padstow Town Council news items linked above for long queues!).
Stephen H
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These helpful photos on the TC website make it very clear what the concerns are and as landowner it’s easy to understand why the TC are trying secure a resolution. The risks of injury accidents are there for all to see and should something awful happen liability may very well rest with the TC. It seems that the County Council has not made an effort to get involved and doesn’t appear any urgency on their part which is simply poor. Let’s hope a sensible solution can be achieved.
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I like to think it is the case that Padstow Town Council aren’t ‘anti-bus’ – ultimately it boils down to one of two things:
1 – Councils and local authorities being increasingly ‘risk-averse’ – the reality is that no matter how much provision is made, or however many signs and notices are put up, pedestrians will just wander into areas where it is clearly not safe to do so.
2 – Money! Whenever I hear the term “stakeholder” mentioned, my first thought is “someone who benefits financially”. Padstow TC could probably make some changes to the land to better accommodate these bus services and make things safer for passengers, but they don’t want to pay for it, also any changes to the car park land would mean loss of revenue if parking spaces are lost as a result.
Stu – West Midlands Bus Users
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The Town Council, doubtless to a Councillor, clearly never use buses themselves and are obviously appalled at the frequency of them these days. There was a time in the “glorious” days of the NBC when there were much fewer! And looking at the parking in Dennis Road, replicated just about everywhere else in the UK now, you won’t get much support from Residents.
And “narrow roads” need not preclude double-deckers, as single-decks are the same width and often longer.
Terence Uden
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Thank you for this interesting blog about the dispute over the bus stop in Padstow’s Old Railway Station Car Park.
First Kernow also operated a park and ride service (895) in Padstow during the school summer holidays this year – see link below. With a 15 minute frequency, this would have more than doubled the number of buses per hour using the Padstow Railway Car Park. Perhaps this was the straw that broke the Town Council’s back?
If so, it seems rather odd that the council is proposing to remove the bus stop in the middle of November, at the start of the off season. Why not at least wait until the spring, and give some further time to find a compromise?
Enlightened local authorities see buses (and in particular Park and Ride) as a means of encouraging more people into town centres, whilst minimising the impact of traffic. Not apparently Padstow.
http://www.cornwallbuses.org.uk/downloads/895-Padstow-park-ride-summer-2024.pdf
Robert Monroe
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i’ve used the stop a number of times and for what’s it’s worth, In my opinion, the bus stop infrastructure there is not fit for purpose. It’s not a pleasant place to wait.
The path is short and narrow, the shelter is at the “wrong” end, which happens to be a dead end, so limits the amount of room to stand, which is why the issue of standing on the road occurs. Given the area is an active car park and used by large good vehicles to access the harbourside, I can see what the concerns might be.
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I hope the Town Council is using this “nuclear option” simply as a way of getting the attention of all the parties so that the bus turning and stop arrangements can be improved to everyone’s benefit. Having spent a week’s holiday in Padstow last year, I know you can’t get very far as a pedestrian in the town without going up or down a “steep hill”, and steeper ones than Station Road!
Steven Saunders
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Other than the park and Ride service which only seem to operates in the Summer the services are low frequency and is only about two bus routes
There is more than enough space for buses to operate safely. All that is probably needed is to build a small roundabout and also to extend the footpath by the bus stop and probably move the pedestrian crossing a bit as it can potentially be obstructed bus buses where it is currently
If they have any BSIP funding that could be used or the Town Council, County Council and bus company can all provide a bit of funding
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Hang on, am I missing something? Those 2 stops on the main road are closer to the town centre than the car park stop, which incidentally is a hazard on it’s own as how can cars safely reverse with pedestrians and buses passing. And besides, a walk up a steep hill would do many fatties in Cornwall a lot of good!
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Padstow Town Council would do well to take a look at what Liskeard’s town council has managed, by adopting an Active Travel policy and engaging with both Cornwall Council and the bus operator. On the site of Liskeard’s disused cattle market (which was previously used as a car park), they have cleared redundant buildings and built a Workshed for small businesses, a new service hub for contacts with local authority departments and a planning application is currently in consultation for a Transport Interchange. This small bus station will cater for all bus and coach services and avoid the congestion that currently takes place at the town centres stops on The Parade, when terminating buses occupy the stop. This will involve the demolition of two further redundant buildings. In addition, measures to improve walking and cycling provision will discourage car use for those who have alternatives around the town.
The plans can be seen at http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-applications/online-planning-register/ using the application number PA24/7022.
There’s even a through bus from Padstow to Liskeard, if they wish to visit – it’s only £2.
Peter Murnaghan
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What an excellent and constructive report. The council should read it.
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Of all numpty councillors, whose numbers are unmeasurable, the numptiest of all are those on the lowest rung, be it town or parish. Jumped-up twerps would be a kind description.
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Megabus major service reduction:
https://www.route-one.net/news/megabus-to-reduce-service-provision-in-england-and-wales/
Peter Brown
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I’ve read the Town Council’s statement from early October. It does seem to be making a reasonable case, and the impression I get is that the “nuclear option” is only being adopted as a last resort. That seems to be due to them being effectively given an endless series of run-arounds by Cornwall Council and the Transport Cornwall.
It may be that Liskeard’s example is the one to follow, but these lowest rungs of local authority are dependent almost entirely on volunteers, and cannot be expected to miraculously find professional resources to help them if no local ones are willing to step up, nor if the voters are unwilling to pay for them.
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I’ve used this bus as a visitor to Padstow since the days of Western Greyhound. It could be more suitable but the problem is the cars not the buses. The approach of the Town Council is precisely that of the car oriented culture we have today.
MikeC
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Options
Let lots of amateur car drivers carrying three or four pax enter and navigate around the car park, reversing and making tight turns, surrounded by pedestrians and excited children, bring a few heads to the town;
or
Let professional bus drivers driving slow, low emission, mass transport, forward facing vehicles and taking care not to jeopardise their livelihoods and driving licences by poor standards, bring many cash-spending customers in.
What oh what could be the reason? £8 a day.
If the Town Council’s logic were to be followed, there is no need to evict the busses, since there is no financial risk anyway because the parking notice denies liability for any harm done (good try there, Council Officers, those notices are foolish nonsense and are irrelevant to liability).
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Apologies to anyone who has struggled to see the plans for Liskeard’s Transport Interchange on Cornwall Council’s Planning Application page. I missed a digit from the planning application number – It should have been PA24/07022.
The plans can be see by entering this number on their planning page at :
http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-applications/online-planning-register/
Sorry !
Peter Murnaghan
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An overriding duty of a local authority at levels is to serve the community as a whole and ensure solutions are found to deliver the services the area needs. In this case there has been an utter and self inflicted failure. There should be an urgent conference perhaps led by the County Council of all parties involve to meet and resolve.
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Sarahs Lane and Dennis Road used to be served by buses on the Wadebridge route, but this section of route was deleted to save time, so I expect some locals would welcome the bus returing.
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One option could be for buses to stand at the top of the hill. Anyone not wanting to walk down could be allowed to stay on until the bus goes to the car park to pick up for the return journey. Alternatlvely link the 11 and 56 into a through route, so that buses will simply stop to set down and pick up in the car park, but not stand at all in Padstow. The open toppers are more for tourists than day to day users, so that not going down to or from the car park is perhaps easier to accept ??
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A look on Google Streetview is very interesting. Firstly, there are spaces opposite the bus stop, that used to be allocated to the Park and Ride bus, but now are Staff parking. Secondly, looking at the coach parking area, there are at least two free spaces in every one of the 5 snap shot views of the coach parking and on three occasions, only one coach parked. interestingly, in August 2011 there is painting on the floor advising to “only reverse under supervision”, but not after 2014, just stick it in reverse and away you go!
Wonder what Padstow TC would have done if they had kept the trains running?
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If the bus stop is indeed on the Town Council’s land (as Stephen says above) then surely the Town Council can improve the facilities on their own without reference to other ‘stakeholders’ (ghastly stupid expression. Always makes me think of Buffy). If they can unilaterally close the stop, then they can unilaterally provide a better one.
I do not think the Town Council is acting in good faith. I rather suspect that their ‘solution’ is not to provide decent facilities, but to reduce the number of buses.
Michael Wadman
Sutton, Surrey
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