Bus stop will not return to Witton Street

SHOPPERS and traders have been dealt a fresh blow after it was confirmed that the bus stop will not be returning to Witton Street.

Bus provider Arriva stopped serving Witton Street last September following public realm improvements between the library and Venables Road which made the road unsafe for buses to navigate.

Since then, shoppers have been unable to get off directly in Witton Street, causing a knock on effect for traders.

In February, Arriva told the Guardian that highway changes, including the narrow of the road and widening of the pavement, had led them to avoid Witton Street.

Cheshire West and Chester Council said they were determined to reinstall the bus stop and planned to consult local bus drivers on where it should be located on the road, which CWAC says was designed to take buses.

But now, eight months later, Witton Street is still without a bus stop.

Richard McDonald, of PP Racing, told the Guardian he has suffered a serious decrease in custom since the bus stop’s removal.

He said: “My business is now a fully 40 per cent down on how it was before the road developments started and the bus stop was moved – this is not just down to the recession and it only started when the works began.”

On contacting CWAC last week, the Guardian was told that the bus stop would not be returning.

A spokesman said: “Commercial bus operators took the decision not to return to Witton Street since the engineering work was completed.

“They decided not to include Witton Street on their route.”

Richard added: “A large number of traders and local people are repeatedly asking me when the buses are coming back.

“The council asked for the changes and arranged for practice runs with buses to make sure changes were going to be ok.