MP's bus shelter stance branded 'disingenuous'

An MP has been criticised for being "disingenuous" in his response towards the proposed demolition of a bus shelter that has led to community tensions.

The row over the 1950s shelter on Station Approach in Sheringham, Norfolk, is in its eighth day after demonstrators moved in last week.

Speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk, North Norfolk Liberal Democrat MP Steffan Aquarone said Norfolk County Council's behaviour was "unacceptable" and "nothing short of bullying".

But Conservative council leader Kay Mason-Billig said: "The town council were on board, the district council, the MP was on board. He now sees an opportunity, I think, to grandstand and get his face in the papers."

The council says the shelter does not meet modern accessibility standards and is unsafe.

On Friday, protesters trying to prevent its demolition were served with an eviction notice, and bailiffs visited the site in the early hours of Monday.

Aquarone told BBC Radio Norfolk: "Common sense would have been to allow a proper conversation to take place."

During a full county council meeting on Tuesday, Mason-Billig said a public consultation in May found that about 80% of people supported and agreed with the plan.

"At no point at that time did we have the kind of protests we have seen recently," she said.

Mason-Billig added: "[Aquarone] actually said to me, 'What you really need to do is pull this for a week, talk to the people who are making the fuss about this and then do it anyway'. I thought that was a really disingenuous thing to say."

Aquarone told the BBC that the comments made at the meeting were "untrue", adding that they "further underline just how desperately, badly wrong the Conservative-run county council has got this".

An emergency town council meeting over the issue is due to be held on Tuesday evening.

Mason-Billig said: "If the town council – because it's their land – don't want this to happen, maybe this whole bus service improvement scheme will have to be pulled and that money can be spent elsewhere, where people do want that money spent, and Sheringham can carry on with their bus shelter."

The county council says the budget for the Sheringham Travel Hub scheme is £358,000.

Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said the money needed to be spent by March 2026.

"If [the protests] continue, I'm not going to strongarm people out of there... I will spend the money elsewhere," he said.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.