A CAMPAIGNER has called for action to improve the state of Colchester’s bus station with toilets closing early due to antisocial behaviour and the waiting room shutting due to technical faults.

The town’s official bus station in Queen Street, Colchester, closed in December 2012 and a new bus terminal was built in nearby Osborne Street.

However, bus campaigner Peter Kay says the new alternative bus terminal has been neglected and has fallen into a state of disrepair.

He said: “I went there at 5.15pm on Sunday and I found there is now a notice up saying ‘Closed due to building fault’. It’s impossible to get in.

“This is not some sudden problem, it is the result of deliberate neglect by the council.

“For many months now the lighting and so-called heating in the waiting room have been out of action and one of the two entrance doors has been unusable.

“No effort has been made to do anything about it because the council is quite happy for people to go through the winter period sitting in the cold and the dark, not forgetting the wind that blows through the big gaps in the walls.”

He also raised concerns about the toilets saying they were closed by 5pm during the week and even earlier on Sundays.

A spokesman for Colchester Council said it had found some faults with the heating which will be fixed as soon as possible.

He said: “We were alerted to a problem with one of the waiting room doors last Wednesday.

“A repair company has been on site today to fix a loose canopy and has ordered a replacement switch and sensor but the doors continue to work normally.

“Although we had received no reports of a heater problem, our technicians did conduct a safety check earlier today and found a fault with both heating units, which will be replaced as soon as possible.

“There are no problems with the lighting, which is checked daily by our zone operatives.”

The spokesman said the council had no choice but to close the toilets early due to louts hanging around. He said: “Unfortunately, due to significant levels of anti-social behaviour, we have decided to close the bus station toilets at 5pm weekdays and at 4pm on Sunday.

“We plan to review these times over the summer but, in the meantime, the public can use the Lion Walk toilets until 7pm, Monday to Saturday, and until 5pm on Sunday.”