New Bus Station
 

I was talking to a bus driver the other day and he informed me that the bus companies were being charged £125 per day to use the new bus station. He also mentioned that they will be charged £225 per day to use the new Blackburn bus station when it's finished. On top of this he said that ticket machines which the bus companies use were owned by the council and were rented out to the bus companies. He said that the Rosso buses were refusing to pay the charge and would not be using the new bus station.

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I often question the logic behind the 'spot on' charge of £2.50 from outside the Castle to the Hare & Hounds...guess we will see an increase

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If the Rosso buses refuse to use the bus station I hope they have their routes taken off them

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Well i hope all companies refuse to pay the robbing gits.:rolleyes:

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I did hear that M&M and Pilkingtons were also not going to use the bus station because the charges were prohibitive.
I don't know how true this is, but if it is true then it looks like only transdev will be occupying stands and it makes a mockery of having a bus station.
Surely all this should have been hammered out with the companies before the project went ahead.

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looks like maundy grange will be taking over a new property soon with ample parking

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Dont talk daft, that would mean doing things right.;)

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Yes, it would....But it would also mean that the bus station was fit for purpose...and that purpose is to have centralised bus services(even though the new bus station could not be considered to be central to the town centre).
It looks like it might be a bit of a white elephant if a number of companies decline to use it.
If the bus routes were taken away from Rosso, M&M and Pilkingtons, then it would be the passengers who were inconvenienced.....not LCC.

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aye but to them thats better than saying were stupid.;)

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I think it will be them that look foolish when half the buses in town refuse to use the bus station...and where are these buses going to have their stops if they do not use the bus station?
It will result in a fragmented service....no better than the current situation.
At least Peel St and Infant St are in close proximity.

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I didn't know that bus companies had to pay a fee. Have they always, or is this something new? The daily charge does seem excessive.

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i hope people stay away from this new bus station and support local companies who are been forced out by ridiculous charges

mind you after seeing how HBC treated a popular local taxi driver for having LPG as a fuel source it wouldnt surprise me if these smaller companies get strong armed into compliance

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What was the problem with LPG?

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LPG is supposed to be a clean fuel. I once had an astra duel fuel. It failed it's MOT on gas but passed on petrol.

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Looking at the plan of the new bus station it appears to me as though the buses will have to reverse off the stand.
I wonder if they will provide a full time marshalling officer or take pot luck nobody gets squashed.

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They reverse off the stand in Preston and Burnley.
Passengers are not supposed to be on the apron in either of those places.....and most buses are fitted with a beeper to alert anyone who is on the apron that a vehicle is reversing.
I cannot see them employing someone as a marshall, maybe signage will be in place to warn passengers of dangers.

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despite promoting it a couple of years back in a taxi HBC have banned LPG from been used in taxis

what they neglected to do was inform anyone including the garage that does MOT's for taxis on HBC behalf

it was christmas and the taxi driver got his MOT after buying a car fitted with it and went to get his badge from HBC

HBC refused him his badge because he had LPG making it impossible for him to work

they like to make rules up without notifying or publishing them and refuse to budge when presented with facts...

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Was there an issue with the LPG conversion?

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It was bought from new with dual fuel

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taking the routes from rosso ... that's owned by Rossendale borough council? :p

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Not to mention that they run one of the most reliable & value for money services, they would be a big loss imho

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I know the early dual fuel Vauxhalls were not done in the Vauxhall factory. They were sent out to another company to convert them. Not sure if that was always the case though.

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Does LPG have anything to do with the new Bus Station?

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I don't know does it?

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if you read the topic its very clear how LPG was brought in to this

i insinuated that the council may strong arm small bus companies into using the new bus station as they strong arm taxi drivers in the area

it was then asked by neil as to why LPG wasnt allowed to be use din taxis.This may not be to your liking but it isnt against any forum rules and with neil been a moderator he would know

it was then mentioned by another person that his LPG system failed its MOT

a few posts later you asked your question as to what LPG had to do with the bus station

i tried my best to politely explain how LPG came about been in this thread

i hope any further posts dont need explanation

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It was not possible to follow your line of reasoning in the original post as there was no mention of a connection between the LPG problem and the charges for using the Bus Station - now I understand.

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It's a shame those horrible diesel fume belching red busses don't use LPG. LPG is a much cleaner fuel than diesel which has recently been blamed for our poor air quality and threats from the EU to fine the UK.

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Not just the buses that belch out the diesel particulates, there are a large number of cars that run on diesel nowadays - partially thanks to the confidence trick introduced by Brown. One cannot help but wonder if the MOT test on buses and heavy vehicles are checked to the same emission standards as diesel powered cars?

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I'm no fan of Gordon Brown but he changed road tax to be based on CO2 because that was what we were supposed to reduce to keep the EU happy. Now they have changed their minds and complain about air quality and particulates in the air.

If we could make enough clean electricity then electric cars would be the way to go. We are not yet there with battery technology either. There are some electric battery powered busses which would be nice to see in Hyndburn but can't see it for many years yet

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If we did get an electric bus there is a free park and charge spot outside the Town Hall it could use that without having to go into the new bus station saving the environment no cost to the operator for recharging batteries or for the bus station and therefore able to offer cheaper fares.

I bet our Council would soon find a way of stopping that if it was ever to happen.

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Don't they have particle filters built into them? I believe the Krautlings forced through laws which ensured all Diesel vehicles sold on the German market had to have particle filters fitted (this happened about 05/06). Older Diesel vehicles like our ford had to have them retrofitted, that or get hammered in taxes & banned from certain zones.

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Wasn't fully aware of that DinG, knew that there is something like the Cat Converter fitted to Diesels nowadays but not the details. Are the filters meant to reduce or even prevent the carcinogens being emitted?
I am sure that the VW Group found a way round the requirements if it improved the specifications - only during testing of course.

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Two different things Barrie, the in built or retrofitted filters remove a higher percentage of the "Soot" from the emissions, but have little or no bearing on the CO2 output. It was the latter that got VW & various others into bother as their stated output was significantly different to the actuality.

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They're called Diesel Particulate Filters(DPF).
All diesel cars have had them fitted since 2009. They filter out all the little black particles and hold them. You won't see a modern diesel blow a cloud of black smoke out as it accelerates hard. They don't take out the nitrous oxide which is the main worry now about diesels.
Trouble is the filter clogs up with the particles especially if you use it for a lot of short runs and it never gets really hot. Pressure sensors detect this and inject neat diesel into the engine or exhaust to burn and turn the particles to ash(but the ash stays in the DPF.
Three problems-
When the burn-off starts the miles per gallon drops heavily( down from 45 to 25 on mine). This can last for several miles, ruining your fuel economy.

If you get a warning light from the DPF and don't do a hot run it can wreck your engine. The first thing it will do is force your maximum speed down to about 50mph. If you're lucky you can limp into a dealers, they can burn it off but will also have to change your oil if it's an engine injection system-£150 to £200 cost.

Thirdly the DPF eventually becomes clogged with the ash and has to be replaced, cost for mine £1800, can be a lot more for Mercs etc. Life of a DPF should be above 60000 depending on your type of driving but that's not a lot for a modern diesel.

Moral- if you don't do a lot of long distance driving don't buy a diesel.

I think they're fitted to new buses but you don't see many new buses(unles your in London of course!)

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How does the DPF wreck your engine? It's just a lump in the exhaust.

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If it's blocked with particles or ash it creates massive back pressure in the exhaust system. As I recall this can damage the valves, pistons and turbo to a major extent.
The onboard computer lights a warning light when it detects a dangerous build-up of pressure but if you carry on without doing a 'burnout' it trips in a 'disabling' engine control. This drops your speed to about 50/55 and cuts the power down. Not funny if you're in the fast lane. You are committed to a dealer reset then. If you carry on-bang!
It's not like a catalyst, they don't block. It's actually a very fine filter.

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Have just read that "Most" operators are considering NOT using the new Bus Station,due to the ridiculous costs, Hardly a shock to me, How stupid is building this thing and NOT even bothering to speak @ sort out with the companies?:rolleyes:

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Asking the potential users is far too sensible Cashy.
If the operators had been told ahead of the build what the proposed costs would be(and told LCC where to shove their bus station)....do you think the build would have gone ahead?
I think this was all cut and dried. And I would not put it past LCC in using strong arm tactics to coerce bus operators to get onside and use the facility.
They are going to look really silly with a bus station that is used by only one operator.

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Aye but as i seem to recall, was Graham not on LCC at the time?

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I don't know Cashy, but even if he was.....why would that make any difference?
As I said, it was all cut and dried.
It was never about what was needed or what made sense.

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According to to Observer, the independent bus companies were not involved in any discussions about using the bus station....the charges were not discussed.
How blooming daft is that. Wouldn't you think that a consultation of the users should be part of the business plan?
I know that there was supposed to be a consultation between passengers, but I don't know anyone who was asked their opinion.......I never saw any sort of forms to be filled in by passengers.....and I use the buses quite a bit

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Cos quite simply the public elected him and if he was there is no way he would not be aware? cos he aint thick.

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Yes, but once elected these politicos become very paternalistic.....they think they know much better than us what we want and what is good for us.
they do not do the bidding of their constituents.....they are more interested in doing what their party dictates?
I know he isn't daft. That is something that could be levelled at us for electing these people.
Well we know what to do next time don't we?

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July before its open ...


New Accrington bus station delayed another SIX weeks - Accrington Observer

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Thanks Shillelagh for the link

Took this Sunday lunchtime

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rossen...-5miogX-5minNK

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They are probably looking for bus companies prepared to use it.:rolleyes:

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I have just been past about half n hour back, was completely empty no buses, no people, possibly another HBC success?:D

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I think that they chose a Sunday to open because there is virtually no service today. If it is a disaster tomorrow, they can rightly say " Well, it ran smoothly yesterday:confused:" :D

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If i had been wanting to enquire about summat, there was no-one to ask as i saw?:confused:

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Who is actually going to enforce the rules at the new bus station ?

You can always come and park outside my shop at lunchtime, it will make a change from 10,000 Pilky buses queued up at the same time :)

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There was no one around when I went in either Cashy, lovely information office but as you say - unmanned??

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Yeh you got to be a good guesser,:D;) Yeh would have thought at least for an initial period they woulda manned it? but that takes sense, sadly lacking with yon lot.

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with th e way some folk acted at the old bus station you would think at the new one they would be encouraging people to use a toilet not charge them for it

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No doubt HBC will soon be announcing that Peel Street toilets will be closing.:eek:

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At the last Chamber Of Trade meeting we were told there are no plans to close them yet by a councillor on Miles Parkinsons say so.

The market manager is hell bent on closing them to save costs.

That means they will probably close tomorrow. Famous last words when we campaigned to keep them open last time, 'They will never close on Labours watch'

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The market manager was a complete ******, when i worked yon in me teens, seems nothings changed.:rolleyes:

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Who was that Cashy? I can see his ugly mug in my head, but can't for the life of me remember his name......yes, he was a right old sourpuss!

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Wont say his name chance some relative is a member but it began with B his surname.;)

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You should have added "Blowing obnoxious fumes out of the exhaust which drifts into the passengers on the bus through the open door while the driver reads the Quaran".
And that is exactly what happened when I boarded a bus there once.

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Public toilets seem to going the same way as the public libraries, at one time they used to belong to the public and fer the benefit of em.

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The things you read in the public toilets may not have been in the Queens English, but unlike the libraries it would always be in large print.

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Kilroy Was Here.

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I jump for glee. I jump for joy. I was here before Kilroy.;)

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I drove down King Street in Accrington about 11.55 this morning and a red single decker bus was letting passengers off on the new Farm Foods car park.
I can't remember if it was M&M or a Pilky bus.

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Maybe this has something to do with the Americanization of British Culture. The Americans, and American businesses operating in Canada, have a puritanical attitude to bodily functions. They are disgusting and embarrassing. It is difficult to locate the bog in department stores. One has to ask. And "where the [deleted] is the bog; I need to take a dump?" doesn't elicit much of a response. Folks don't go to take a whizz or a dump; they go to the bathroom, or to "powder their nose".:rolleyes: Gas stations have bogs ... but you have to ask for the key. And when you get there, they are more disgusting than the bogs at Accy Grammar. Almost as disgusting as the bog at the Forts Arms bus stop:eek: Oh for the days of numerous cheap or free public bogs! As T. S. Eliot wrote in "The Wasteland" (a poem about Yorkshire):

There's a Gentleman's urinal at the back of Waterloo,
And the "Ladies" is a little further down.
For a penny on deposit
You can hire a water closet,
And a season ticket's only half a crown."

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I can't understand why they call them 'rest rooms', whenever I go the bog it isn't for a rest, I know I'm going to be active one way or another, nor do I feel inclined to 'rest' in these places after my activities especially when I can rest far more comfortably in a room that has a bar.

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I could never understand why Accrington bus station cost £6.7 million when Blackburn only cost £4.7 million.
is it more expensive to micro-size

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I think it is called the inverse economics of scale;)

Questions for you guys: Was the contract to build the bus station tendered? Were the bids made public? Were there any cost overruns? Is there muzak in the bogs?

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no but there is a clonk after you insert your 20p

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Oh for the days when you could buy two pints and six of chips for that kinda money.;)

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Inspected the bus station looks rather splendid as do the disabled loos complete with showers so hats off for that. Only problem I can see with it is the public not following the exit routes provided as we watched lots of people walking in and out of the bus lanes and staff frantically trying to stop them. Also like the way an exit more or less faces the shopping centre. Info centre was helpful but did wonder what the other locked room further down with a sink in it might be in the future?

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A shower? I know they are needed at international airports for people that have travelled many miles and are waiting for a connecting flight, but, how much delay could there possibly be between connecting local transports that create the need to take a shower!

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Impressive looking,but did they need to spend 6.4 million to swop the old car park and bus station? Peel Street is to become a car park!! At the opening on Monday Miles Parkinson is quoted "First piece of multi million jigsaw of investment".I think HBC. have lost the lid of the box and are making their own picture up ! Before they come up with any more pie in the sky projects they should attempt to use the cash to improve what we have. Subsidise rents on empty shops,reduce business rates,improve traffic flow by strictly enforcing no parking regs.(Blackburn Road?) parking on pavements,abuse of blue badges,(use of badge by perfectly fit person and badge holder not in the vehicle),parking attendents are allowed to check this and fine where needed,we need more of them and not just in the town centre,litter wardens also .Just consoldidate and make what we have work before venturing into cloud cuckoo land again !

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Some excellent suggestions there.
We went into town yesterday morning...the market was non existent(almost)...Broadway was deserted.
I did not look at the new Bus station to see if all the residents of Accrington were queued up to get out of what is a very depressing town...the only positive thing I can come up with is that one of the holes in the tarmac on Peel St has been patched up now the buses no longer need the road to be smooth.
Is there anybody running this town or are they all trying to run it into the ground..because I have news for you...It is already there!

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Litter Police? I walked past the old bus station yesterday already got fences up for the no doubt inevitable bog closing ceremony, I needed to get rid of a dog end, the bin was behind the wire fencing out of reach.
Before we get more litter police can we have more litter bins within reach of the public?

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Well they have to fill in those holes, after all its gonna be a car park.:rolleyes::D

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Why will anyone need a car park when the market is stuffed, the shops(what there are) are dire.
I am getting to the point where I do not like going into town at all.......and from the look of the town yesterday i am not on my own.
it is time that those who are supposed to have the town at the heart of their agenda sat up and took notice of what is going on...take off those rose coloured spectacles.....it doesn't matter how many flowers you put on a dung heap it still stinks!

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Someone like an M.P. that cares more about his community than which divvy is in charge of his party?

Is that what you mean?

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I went down dinner timeish today, on the bus, the new bus station looks very nice, very few people in it though, had a good look round and went for a brew, me usual cafe is normally very busy weds dinner, not today :eek: Dont get carried away less, an M.P. i always thought was elected by his constituents to serve them, but as 95% of em are too stupid to think for themselves, that seems to have vanished.:rolleyes:

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I think you have to,perhaps, start with people on the council.

I really think anything to do with the state of our town is probably 'small beer' to our elected representative at the Palace of Westminster....there is neither kudos nor money in it for him.
He probably has bigger fish to fry(for now at any rate).

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Perhaps that is wrong thinking?

Once every 4 or 5 years we get a chance to send someone to London supposedly to represent we, the people, if he/she can't see that, then they are unfit for purpose.

I want someone that puts our area above party politics, someone that can demonstrate to our Councillors that in fighting is not the priority, the people must come above all the party and chamber bickering.

Another General Election can't be far away, I hope all that are put forward by any of the parties will keep this in mind, it is after all, what at least 95% of us desire.

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I wonder if Corbyn gets re-elected the MPs that voted "No Confidence" will resign from their seats in parliament as a matter of principal? Perhaps I am too naive.

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Too naive, those vipers are in it for themselves Barrie. thats already been proved to the nation imho.

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Yes, that sums it up very well. Do you think that we expect too much?

I had high hopes that we had a person who would do all of that.....but, sadly I have been disappointed, let down. Shame on me.I won't be making the same mistake twice.

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I have asked the question before - why should party politics have any influence on local. or even regional councils. Surely all councillors should only attempt to provide what is best for the electorate that they represent.

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Me too....and I have been saying it for yonks.

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maybe they used lego

them bricks are really expensive

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iv often said party labels should be removed from county and ocal concil the only time it matters is for government

if people didnt have to choose a side and the only choice was the person and what they can bring to the table it would remove a lot of sillyness and petty squabbling

i dont have examples to hand but its been reported on here that a good idea for the area has been turned away simply on the basis that the opposing party suggested or wanted it which i have no doubt hs happened in both directions

its no better than kids saying dont play with that kid because hes different or comes from a different area of accy

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Take a close look at the lettering on that pic, obviously cheap letters have been used and they are tarnished already, obviously there will be the odd glitch but bad drainage dripping the shine already?

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And they can't even keep the gutter clean - doesn't look promising for when it gets busy.

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Don't you mean IF it gets busy?

Everywhere I go it's easier, cheaper and quicker to use a taxi!

But then, what do I know, I've never had several million to squander.

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No doubt you are one of the 95% that someone says doesn't know anything about nothing, or should I say nothing about anything?

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I don't know, I went to a Comprehensive Grammar Skool and with all the real Teachers dying in WWII me and my other 59 classmates couldn't tell talk from mutter.

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Walked past brooks club earlier today, buses queuing to get on the section outside there, could it be they haven't got sat nav in their cabs to direct them to the new bus station?

Or could it be that whilst they don't have to go there some drivers are ignoring the super duper space that has removed their human rights?

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Give it ten years, I guarantee that they will be knocking it down because of subsidence, not because there was subsidence, the politicians in charge will just call it subsidence, after all we have umpteen mines underground, just because they didn't find this one isn't their fault.

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I am not surprised by what you are saying Busman.
Some of the people who used to go into town every day have stopped doing so.
I know this is crazy, but I have not used the bus since the bus station opened......and I used to go into town or home from town by bus about three times per week.
I do not WANT to use the bus station.
Why are there no bus stop around the town? The fact that the bus station is down Union ST. has cut off the life blood to the Abbey St/Little Blackburn Rd side of town.....and although I have no mobility problems,for those who have, it is a bit of a hike from the GPO (where we get the pension) down to the bus station.
The routes should be formulated to take in this side of the town..and there should be intermediate stops around the town

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I have used it twice since it opened, and i used to go down acc virtually daily, with the damage H.B.C. has done to our town oer many years, i now have little interest in going down. I feel genuinely sorry for Tradespeople and the like, and hope they manage to survive, somehow doubt if many will.:(