Resident ‘frustrated’ over village bus shelter damage

A REGULAR bus passenger has asked the council why two damaged Sompting bus shelters have taken so long to be repaired.
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Gavvin Muggeridge who is worried about the state of the bus shelter in Cokeham Road in Sompting.ks1500002-1 SUS-150421-195331008ks1500002-1 LHBus Stop

Gavvin Muggeridge who is worried about the state of the bus shelter in Cokeham Road in Sompting.ks1500002-1 SUS-150421-195331008
ks1500002-1 LHBus Stop Gavvin Muggeridge who is worried about the state of the bus shelter in Cokeham Road in Sompting.ks1500002-1 SUS-150421-195331008

In January, Sompting resident Gavin Muggeridge noticed that two bus shelters in the village had been damaged – one located in Cokeham Road, the other by the Ball Tree Inn in Busticle Lane.

Mr Muggeridge said: “The glass panels are completely off, they’re basically missing. I think it might have been vandalism.

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“I get the bus all the time and I know some people in the community that use them regularly and they said it had been like that for weeks back in January.”

A member of the Adur and Worthing Bus Users Group, Mr Muggeridge, of Busticle Lane, emailed Stagecoach Bus to get the glass panels replaced.

But he was advised that the bus shelters were main-
tained by Adur District Council.

The 33-year-old said he has since contacted the district council on numerous occasions.

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“I have sent several emails to a surveyor at the council. I got receipt of my email, so I know I went through the right protocol.

“The last time I contacted them was in February and I still haven’t heard back.

“To be quite frank, I find it really frustrating and this sort of issue needs to be dealt with.”

A spokesman for Adur District Council said the bus shelters in question were owned by Sompting Parish Council.

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He said: “If any of the shelters that we own are reported as being damaged, the majority are reported to our cleansing team to clean up.

“Any damage which requires removal will be dealt with by one of our contractors and then a 
repair is organised as necessary.”

The Herald contacted Sompting Parish Council to report the damaged bus shelters but did not receive a response before going to press.

Mr Muggeridge added: “I feel that the district council should have emailed me back to say it’s a parish council issue.

“The lack of efficiency is disappointing.”

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The Adur and Worthing Bus Users Group was set up to address concerns of the public in relation to the local bus services.

Mr Muggeridge said: “I wanted to get involved because of things like all the cutbacks.”

If you would like to contact the group with any concerns or have noticed any damaged bus shelters in the area, call Gavin on 07549434250.