Petition launched to save coastal town bus stop

It was decided the stop would be removed due to concerns over the safety of the bus reversing near a pub

More than 500 people have signed a petition to save a bus stop in Cornwall set to be removed due to safety concerns.

Go Cornwall is to remove the stop in Fowey from January 2024 over concerns that buses reversing outside the Safe Harbour Inn could possibly cause injuries.

Some residents have opposed the move, saying an alternative stop on Hanson Drive may be less safe as it did not have lighting or a shelter.

Go Cornwall has been contacted for comment.

The area has been used as pick-up point for passengers in Fowey for more than 100 years

The petition, set up last month, states the stop had been in place "for over a century".

It said the alternative was "less accessible to many ... being in a less safe location with no shelter, seating or live travel updates", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The area in front of the Safe Harbour Inn, at the junction of Lostwithiel Street, Cobbs Well and Brown’s Hill, has been a documented transport hub for more than 100 years, with horse-drawn coaches operating before motorised vehicles.

Resident Gretchen Viehmann said the stop had a "natural logic" as "a terminus for the bus services" and she was not sure why it had "suddenly become an issue".

Passengers 'will struggle'

Safe Harbour Inn landlord Graham Allen said getting rid of the stop would have a "huge impact on trade" for his and other businesses.

He said: "People who are waiting come in and use the pub.

"If the bus is late, passengers pop in and the bus drivers use the pub as a comfort stop."

Local Cornwall Councillor Andy Virr said the decision was taken over concerns "about the risk of serious injury or death when the bus is reversing", but he acknowledged "some bus users will struggle to use the new stop".

He said he had asked for a meeting with Cornwall Council and Go Cornwall.

Local MP Steve Double said he hoped Go Cornwall "will be willing to review their decision" and that people should "contact the company and express their concerns".