'DANGEROUS' bus shelters in Ulverston need demolishing but the district council is dragging its heels on the issue, town councillors say.


For three months, Mayor Bharath Rajan claims to have been asking South Lakeland District Council to knock down the 30-year-old concrete structures on Central Drive and Oakwood Drive, but no action has been taken.


When an update on the issue was read out at the Ulverston Town Council meeting on Monday night, it prompted Cllr Colin Pickthall to say: "I own two sledgehammers and would be happy to help."

But his comments got short shrift from Cllr Phil Cooper who said: "That's quite enough sledging from you, Mr Pickthall."

Cllr Pat Jones had a novel suggestion for solving the issue - she said: "Last year we got a new shelter and it had been destroyed in a day by a bus going through it. May I suggest we find a bus driver?"


The bus shelters, which leak when it rains, are due to be replaced by modern ones, complete with vandal-proof glass, something Mayor Rajan says he worked hard to secure funding for.


"The current shelters are in a desperate state," he said. "They have been up for a long time and they should go."


"The district council are putting the contract for their demolition up for tender which could take a couple more months and there's no promise that SLDC are going to pay for the demolition and I don't have the money allocated for that."

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South Lakeland District Council responded to claims that they have been too slow to fix the problem.

A spokesperson said: “The council has been working with Ulverston Town Council on a plan to remove and replace the bus shelters at Oakwood Drive and Central Drive.

“We were asked in April this year to demolish the existing shelters and clear them away so that Ulverston Town Council could install and maintain new shelters and we have agreed to do this. We had been waiting for confirmation of exact timescales as Ulverston Town Council was aiming to secure grant funding for the new shelters.

“Around two weeks ago we were contacted by them to confirm that funding was now largely in place for the replacement shelters, so that we could progress with arrangements for the demolition and removal of the existing shelters.

"Surveyors for our property consultants are already drawing up the specification to demolish the shelters and we will be seeking tender applications, in line with local authority procurement rules.

“This is a process that we have to follow and as soon as this has been completed we will be able to commence the work to remove the old shelters and clear the ground ready for Ulverston TC to install the replacement shelters.’’