RENEWED calls for an upgraded bus station in Colchester have been made after a “deafening silence” from councillors over the “shabby” condition of the borough’s current interchange.
Colchester resident Nick Chilvers called for a statement of intent from council bosses around the provision of a “better” bus station.
Addressing a full meeting of Colchester Council, he said: “The silence on this matter of the unsatisfactory bus station has been deafening.
“We have 51 councillors. It’s about communication really, people want to know whether in the future they can expect a better bus station.”
Mr Chilvers called on Colchester councillors to “press borough and county planners” for a better bus station as part of an upcoming masterplan for the city.
Maintenance at the station, in Osborne Street, has proved tricky since it opened at a cost of £2million in November 2012 due to scattered ownership of land by Colchester Council and Essex County Council.
However, a masterplan between the two authorities has pledged a joint effort on regenerating the city centre.
“The bus station, or interchange if you prefer, operates for all the borough residents from Mersea to Stanway, Greenstead to Shrub End,” said Mr Chilvers.
“It isn’t just a Castle ward matter, nor just a county one.
“There’s a constant drip of complaints in the media about the shabby facilities and general mayhem down in Osborne Street.
“We’ve heard two or three councillors grumble, but we’ve heard nothing from the top table that gives us hope of improvement.”
David King, leader of Colchester Council, told Mr Chilvers the authority “is on the case”.
“We must deserve that attribute of a city and we are serious about this,” he said.
“We are aware there are many concerns about the sum of our provision, including this, interchange or otherwise.”
Colchester councillor Lee Scordis previously called the bus station a “magnet for anti-social behaviour”, sited in “the most unwelcoming street in town”.
The Gazette has previously been told the new masterplan will include a commitment to building a new “transport interchange hub” which will dramatically overhaul the bus station.
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