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February 15th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
By
Eddie Wrenn
Last updated at 5:53 PM on 14th February 2012
Most people have uttered in a moment of exasperation: ‘You wait ages for a bus and then two come along at once’.
But this old maxim will never come true at one bus shelter in Durham after the council built the new stop on a road with no bus routes.
Durham County Council spent nearly £5,000 on the structure, but buses have not driven past the Salutation pub in Framwellgate Moor for two years.
The council – already facing budget cuts of £190million – blamed a communication mix-up with bus company Arriva for the stop to nowhere.
Road to nowhere: Prepare for quite a wait if you come across this bus shelter in Durham
The red-faced council claims that it had checked with bus company Arriva before the work started, but when it was finished, the firm said services had been withdrawn.
The Labour-led council faces cuts of up to £190 million and is axing
services,closing leisure centres and cutting jobs in order to meet a 40
per cent spending cut between 2010 and 2017.
Colin Hillary, chairman of Framwellgate Moor Community Association, said: ‘While our community centre is under threat, it seems a shame that they are not coordinating their works a little better to put money where it would be usefully spent – rather than this apparent waste of money.’
Rain shelter? The bus stop will be of little use to anyone unless they need to escape the weather
Walk to the bus: Sadly for commuters, they face a fair walk to get back onto the local bus routes
Liberal Democrat county councillor Mark Wilkes said the council knew this shelter didn’t need replacing back in August last year – just that the old one needed knocking down.
He said: ‘This is yet another example of this Labour-run council having a complete disregard for taxpayers’ money, as well as being completely incompetent.
‘They were told that no buses stopped here. They agreed, then changed their minds. This is why Labour can’t be trusted running councils.’
Valerie Richardson, a Framwellgate Moor resident, said: ‘How kind of
Durham County Council to replace the old brick bus stop… with a nice
bright glass one complete with rubbish bin and timetable board.
‘The only problem is the bus stop has not been used for more than two years.
‘The council continues to waste money while telling us they need to make savings.
‘Who does their research?’
Blank slate: The timetable at least makes it clear passengers should not expect anything soon
The scheme cost taxpayers £1,800 to demolish the old shelter and £2,800 to build a replacement – and it will cost a futher £580 to move the shelter to another location.
Adrian White, Durham County Council’s head of transport, said: ‘The county council looks after the highways and bus stops, which includes bus shelters; but we do not operate bus services.
‘Therefore, before we do any work on bus stops, we always check with the bus companies regarding their operational services.
‘The work on the shelter was carried out after consultations with Arriva who, on two separate occasions, confirmed that their bus services would be using the stop.
‘Unfortunately, they have subsequently informed the council that they are now not planning to operate services on this route.
‘We will be looking to relocate the shelter in the near future.’
Arriva suggested the mistake had been a misunderstanding.
Nigel Featham, managing director for Arriva North East, said: ‘We work very closely with Durham County Council in order to help improve overall bus services and facilities for passengers.
‘In seems in this instance, there may have been a misunderstanding, as Arriva North East has not used this stop for some time.’
The work was part of a county wide programme to improve public transport, under which nearly 100 old brick bus shelters are being replaced with modern facilities.
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“That’s private sector “efficiency” for you. It was the private sector contractor that messed this up and the private sector thats ripping the taxpayer off. Still don’t let the facts get in the way of a typical DM readers anti public sector rant” – Matt Munro, Bristol, UK,
Employing contractors does not divest responsibility for what they do. In this case the ‘private sector’ contractors were carrying out the instructions of a [socialist] council. It is the council which remains fully responsible for how it spent public money.
Don’t let the truth get in the way of a typical socialist rant.
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One always hopes, in those circumstances, that there is nothing more than incompetence going on. Here in NJ it’s never a certainty with the record of our Democrat-appointed bureaucracies and their cozy relationships with all and sundry contractors.
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hahaha. rock on durham council….rock on.
keep doing your usual….!
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Grrrrrrrrrr! Let some people with brains have their jobs!
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Typical Labour waste. Only Labour can waste money like this….They should never be put in charge of ANY spending.
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I am surprised that the frickin squatters have not shown up to claim it! Oh that’s right, too many other people homes they can take over when they leave on holiday! Time to wake up UK! Put an end to ‘entitlements’ and make ‘Squatting’ a crime, it is after all criminal trespass,
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How can a bus stop cost 5.000pounds?
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So I assume the individuals who caused the “misunderstanding” will now be paying back the money out of their inflated salaries?
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Why do councils pay for bus shelters when the service is privately run. This should be the responsibility of the private sector.
– PRJ, Midlothian, 14/2/2012 16:31
Because it isn’t really privately run, it’s a publicly subisdised “private company”. The private sector take the profit, the public sector take the blame and the public pay the bill
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Apart from its lack of usefulness, how on earth did that shack cost £5000?? Council wasting local tax-payers money as usual. Remember when the elections come around!
– OLD AND NEARLY FORGOTTEN OLD SOLDIER, somewhere in the world., 14/2/2012 16:41
That’s private sector “efficiency” for you. It was the private sector contractor that messed this up and the private sector thats ripping the taxpayer off. Still don’t let the facts get in the way of a typical DM readers anti public sector rant
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