Padstow Town Council can confirm that from the 18 November 2024 the bus stop on the Town Council’s Railway Car Park will no longer be operational for reasons of health and safety and is expected to be removed w/c 18 November 2024.
Chairman Councillor O’Keefe commented “For more than 2 years (since June 2022) we [PTC] have been raising concerns with Cornwall Council and bus operators, Go Cornwall and First Kernow to address a number of health and safety concerns. Anyone who knows the area will have witnessed firsthand the increasingly unsafe and unmanageable situation that the bus stop presents.”
He added “Padstow Town Council has been put into an impossible position. Despite being the landowner, the Town Council is not considered a stakeholder and is not consulted on any bus operations from or to the Railway Car Park Registered Bus Stop. There is no conduit through which it can raise concerns and ensure they are factored into bus route decisions. Indeed, we learnt recently that, if submitted within a specific timeframe, most routes are agreed by the Transport Commissioner without any consultation at all.”
Over the last 2 years, the Town Council has raised concerns directly with bus operators and with Cornwall Council. In that time, Padstow Town Council has been unsuccessful in encouraging a collaborative review of the bus stop. Attempts to highlight the safety concerns related to the unique location of the bus stop and the need for changes to its use and management that could improve safety have also failed. When a further bus route was registered at the start of the summer, despite the known health and safety issues and adverse impact of existing services, the Town Council was left with no option but to give notice.
At the end of July, the Town Council gave Cornwall Council 3-months’ notice of its intention to remove the bus stop. In September, the timescale was extended at Cornwall Council’s request. The extended notice expires on Sunday 17 November 2024.
The Chairman added “Padstow Town Council is committed to see change and improvement to bus infrastructure in our Parish. The status quo cannot continue – it is unsafe and unmanageable.”
The Town Clerk added that “the Town Council wrote to both the Cabinet Member for Transport and Local Cornwall Councillor outlining that there needs to be a comprehensive review of Padstow and its bus service infrastructure, involving input from, and consultation with, all relevant stakeholders to better service its users and its residents, which has been welcomed by the Local Cornwall Councillor. Padstow Town Council is committed to engaging in any conversations that seek such improvement and reaffirmed this in its latest correspondence with Cornwall Council.”
Please click on this link for a further statement – 3.10.24
Have the council considered the health and safety issues of disabled and elderly passengers who would then be forced to walk down from the top of town to access the shops etc?
The walk down has few dropped kerbs, narrow pavements and In places no pavements at all. It is dangerous for wheelchair users. This would appear to discriminate against people with disabilities being able to access the town of the do t have a car.
Thank you for your valid comments. Unfortunately the Railway Car Park Bus Stop can no longer cope, it is not fit for purpose and is unsafe. Padstow Town Council has ben raising these matters directly with Cornwall Council and bus operators. Cornwall Council is the authority responsible for bus services across Cornwall and therefore has a duty to deliver a reliable, efficient, safe and inclusive service for Padstow. Padstow Town Council, supported by Cornwall Councillor Rushworth, has expressed to Cornwall Council the need for a comprehensive review of Padstow and its bus service infrastructure. We hope that the Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Donnithorne will start these conversations with us and look forward to engaging fully to see what improvements can be achieved for all.
Thank you for the prompt reply.I hope that there will be an opportunity for users of the bus service to be consulted which does not seem to have happened so far. I am a regular user of the bus from Trevone as I am no longer able to drive due to an eye condition. I was unaware of the decision to change the bus stop until today. I also have a family member who is a wheelchair user and uses the bus when he visits.
It bangs on about Health & Safety, but has no one stated what the Health & Safety issue is, as I certainly cannot see one! The stop has been used for many many years and has never been a problem, just an over-reaction by a clearly anti-bus Town Council that hasn’t got a clue of its priorities. Padstow Town Council have lost the plot, affecting tourism traffic, and also affecting traffic congestion in the area by simply encouraging more car use into the area. Then discrimination for those less able to get up and down the steep hill too.
Also, where will the bus be going instead to terminate, as all other stops nearby would block the road with buses standing there.
Just complete lunacy by the Town Council, and completely unjustified with no hard evidence to back the decision up.
The bus stop copes extremely well thank you, I use it several times a week and have never observed any ‘unsafe’ issues.
There’s no point in issuing the Cornwall Council with an ultimatum, they’ll take their own sweet time, but by doing so Padstow Council has cut residents off from a valuable and necessary service.
And why single out the buses? What does the Council propose to do about the sand lorries and tourist coaches? If indeed it is a safety issue we’re dealing with here.
How about the big lorries that use the car park why aren’t they being addressed as well
Could you explain the “health and safety” issues please? Not only coaches drive through the car park but also the sand lorries which reverse there as well. During the summer, I was regularly going in and out of the Museum and I was unaware of any hazards with the scheduled buses stopping there.
Hi I used the buses a lots and if I walked down and all wise get the buses to wadebridge you need to sort this out or we not going get any bus forat all I won’t be happy I all wise used the bus to go to wadebridge bodmin ete and you don’t about the old person who can’t get up the hill and woo have got traports
I have great concerns about this decision and how it will impact on the elderly and disabled of the town eg accessing Tesco and coming into town using the buses. Also if it is a health and safety issue, would this not also involve the sand Lorrie’s, any traffic that goes through the car park for fishing purposes, the coaches that bring the day trippers and so much money into town and also the bicycles going through the car park. Has there been a particular incident that has lead to this decision? I would all for the council to reconsider this decision please and hold a public meeting/ consultation to get the views of the town
Why can’t the town council negotiate with the bus operators to space out the buses every 20 mins, and make that a condition of using the car park.
Surely all it needs is to take away some of the car parking in order for the buses to turn easily! Oh I expect the council would lose some money, but I am sure they take more than enough and should be thinking of the elderly and disabled and insuring that there is still a good bus service into Padstow
This will disadvantage the public, whether young, elderly and infirm who use the public transport. The government promotes the use of public transport. This initiative will make many people suffer hardship not only the users who will be forced to navigate the steep hill into padstow but local organisations such as the users of the memorial hall, the cafe, the museum, the lobster hatchery, the cafe and the shops in the carpark the TIC they all rely on the footfall from people embarking off the buses, and coaches, the buses have operated from this site for over 30 years with the bus operators having their crew room as part of the council office. Let’s hope that the Town council can support bringing economic success to the town along with equal opportunities and access to all and consider the reasons why using a bus enables people to access the beautiful town. Let’s hope this move us not seen as a step to prevent access to the town for all.
Samantha, from your reply above, on what basis has the Railway Car Park bus stop been determined ‘unsafe’ and ‘not fit for purpose’? Have there been multiple accidents? Where were they reported? Has a study been conducted? Who undertook the study? Where is the output of the study and what were the conclusions?
Without appropriate analysis being undertaken, then this decision will have been arrived at arbitrarily and with no consultation with those people most affected – I.e. locals and holiday makers with mobility issues, who now have no alternative but to walk up the hill to use their bus service. I’m not surprised that the bus operators have raised this as an issue. What does Cornwall Council have to say?
There needs to be an open and transparent public discussion on this topic, with the views of all stakeholders, including the users of the service, taken into account.
What is it about the current bus stop that is a health and safety issue?
Have there been any incidents?
What about the sand lorries, are they not a greater H&S risk?
I’m concerned that the elderly, the disabled, those without cars or other transport, or those that choose to use public transport (as we’re being encouraged to) from an environmental perspective, will effectively be unable to get into town, without a serious hill climb.
This proposal is not improving services for the community. Quite the opposite – and the real motives behind it are opaque.
What are the safety concerns mentioned in the article?
We use the bus service regularly as do many people .
I agree it is congested at the point of the bus stop ,but it also acts as a point of speed reduction to the very busy confusing junction.!
PLEASE consider the possibility of an alternative bus termination in Padstow as I can’t think of a better location.
The bus gives access to locals and tourists and reduced the need of parking which is a real problem.
Please consider the local Padstow community.
Whilst I understand the Town Council’s frustration regarding the engagement with Cornwall Council and the Bus companies, the same frustration is also felt by bus users who live in Padstow with the Town Councils decision to evict the buses from the Railway Car Park and the sudden announcement.
As a bus user, who is luckily able to walk to the new terminus wherever it maybe positioned, I’m aware that there are far more regular users with accessibility needs who will be greatly affected by this decision.
I also find it hard to understand why the same health and safety issues do not also apply to the visiting parking coaches and the sand lorries.
Given the lack of public consultation would it not now be appropriate to extend the postponement to allow the bus users of Padstow to lobby the county council and bus companies to attempt to find a compromise solution and encourage engagement with the Town Council.
My last point would be that the decision, although may help health and safety the car park, will most likely increase the issues elsewhere in the town.
Will the bus stops in New Street and Schoolhill still be operational? I note the concerns voiced by a previous correspondent, are any replacement bus stops proposed nearer the harbour so that the elderly and those with limited mobility in particular, still be able to access transport services?
Thank you
I would echo the thoughts of others here, asking what provision will be available for disabled and elderly visitors to the town, whether local or on holiday. How long are they expected to be unable to visit, volleys prescriptions etc. Are you providing a shuttle taxi service, once an hour? Yo link with the bus?
if the bus is not safe what about the sand lorries
Thank you to those who took the time to comment on this post. Padstow Town Council has issued a further statement concerning the Railway Car Park bus stop which can be viewed here: https://padstow-tc.gov.uk/2024/10/03-10-24-railway-car-park-bus-stop/