Meeting documents

To receive any questions or statements from the public relevant to the meeting.  These must be received by 5 pm three clear working days before the meeting.

Public questions should be submitted in writing no later than three clear working days before the meeting to democraticservices@somerset.gov.uk. 

There were two public questions from David Redgewell, which were read by the Chair:

Questions from David Redgewell:

(1)  What progress is being made on Taunton bus and coach station now that we have £11 .9 of bus service improvements plan money.  It's a top priority of passengers to provide proper bus and coach interchange facilities in Taunton. Taunton is a major Southwest town without a public transport interchange bus or coach station. Tower Street by station is owned by Somerset West and Taunton Council.  National Express coaches are interchanging passengers outside Shire Hall in Park Avenue for Exeter, which has a coach station under construction.  Plymouth and Penzance with services to Barnstaple bus station, Ilfracombe and Bideford.  Passenger facilities are some of the worst in Southwest England for bus and coach services.

(2)  Why Did Somerset County Council, who is the Transport Authority working with Somerset West and Taunton Council, not plan to keep bus and coach service layovers In Taunton bus and coach station instead of agreeing to allow buses to lay over and block stands in Taunton town centre? Other Southwest councils regulate the highways and bus and coach stops and where buses can wait.  The blocking of stands without service of First Group buses and other companies is making it difficult for wheelchair passengers to access services. We need very, very urgent review of bus stands and passenger facilities In Taunton town centre by Somerset County Council. 

In response to the first question, Natasha Bates, Service Commissioning Manager, said that following the funding announcement the DfT have also issued further information relating to the use of the funding, including rules on how it can and cannot be used.  One of the stipulations is that the funding cannot be used for investment in existing infrastructure, which we have assumed rules out the Taunton bus station proposal.  However, we will continue to look for alternative funding streams.  Although there is nothing immediate in the pipeline, we are still intending to complete the feasibility study which will provide suggestions on what the improvements should look like, in case funding does become available in the future.

In response to the second question, Natasha Bates stated that the former bus station facility is owned by Somerset West and Taunton, and since the closure of the facility in March 2020, Buses of Somerset have had an arrangement with Somerset West and Taunton whereby Buses of Somerset lease space on the site for parking their vehicles.  This arrangement between those two parties has recently come to an end, but our public transport team have been working with the operator to identify appropriate layover bays for buses where required and to advise of any action needed from their perspective to facilitate this.  What is worth noting is that as part of the move to the unitary council, there are various workstreams looking at the activities across all five councils; and bus stations and bus stops will be picked up in this work stream under the assets and infrastructure side.  So as these evolve, I believe that more strategic discussions will be required in relation to Taunton bus station and how it progresses.