Colchester bus station would still be fully operational if it had not been for the policies of the last Government.

I pointed this out before yesterday’s visit by Labour Shadow Transport Minister Maria Eagle MP to town to discuss future bus station provision with members of the local Labour Party.

The Visual Arts Facility destroyed the greater part of our bus station – and the Vaf would not have happened had it not been for millions of pounds provided by the Labour Government, via the quangos East of England Development Agency and Arts Council East.

The Vaf is the sort of thing which illustrates the last Labour Government’s appalling financial record.

Without the Vaf being here, we would still have a proper-sized bus station.

I think the invitation by Colchester Labour Party to the Shadow Transport Minister was an attempt to airbrush out Labour’s support for the Vaf, which led to the loss of our bus station as we knew it.

I feel the best way forward would be to retain what is left of the Queen Street bus station, provided it was modernised.

It would be better use of public space than replacing it with trees and lawns as landscaping for the Vaf – and I say that as someone who supports trees and green open spaces.

A modern bus station is environmentally green.

There is still time for Colchester Council and Essex County Council to embrace the views of residents who have made it clear that they want to keep a bus station where it is currently located.

Bob Russell MP
Magdalen Hall
Wimpole Road
Colchester