At a meeting of the Regulatory and Technical Services Committee for the Newry Mourne and Down District Council on Wednesday 17 June, the request for a bus shelter request in Clough village was withdrawn from the schedule
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DUP Ballynahinch Councillor Garth Craig was disappointed that the Clough bus shelter proposal has been rejected.[/caption]
TransportNI had no objection to the siting of the bus shelter and Translink confirmed that their requirement of a minimum of 50 passengers per day had been met.
Further, no replies were received from a survey of properties within a 50 metre radius of the bus stop. Council procedure requires that two thirds of those residents consulted must indicate in writing that they have no objection to the shelter. This criteria was not met and this request was withdrawn from the list
Cllr Garth Craig said at the meeting: “I am disappointed that although both TransportNI and Translink requirements had been met, the request is to be withdrawn withdrawn due to Council’s policy not being met. O do not agree with the way the Council policy was written. Residents had no incentive to reply if they had no objections to a bus shelter. It would be better to ask residents if they had objections, and if one third of those consulted did object then further consultation should take place. It was a great pity that this bus shelter was dropped primarily due to a poor policy.”
Cllr Terry Andrews agreed with Cllr Craig and Council officers agreed to look at an amendment to this Council procedure.
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