Council spends 5k on bus shelter not on bus route

A British council has spent more than £5,000 on a bus shelter only to discover that it isn't on a bus route.

A British council has spent more than £5,000 on a bus shelter only to find out that it isn't on a bus route.

Durham County Council - which is closing services and cutting jobs to meet a 40 per cent spending cut between 2010 and 2017 - replaced an old brick bus stop with a glass one which now needs moving, and the organisation has appeared to point the blame at bus company Arriva for the ''misunderstanding''.

Adrian White, the local authority's Head of Transport, said: ''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.''

Nigel Featham, managing director for Arriva North East, is quoted by the Northern Echo newspaper as saying: ''It seems in this instance, there may have been a misunderstanding, as Arriva North East has not used this stop for some time.''