Bus shelter row rumbles on amid return of bailiffs

No more efforts will be made to evict protesters who have been camping out at a 1950s bus shelter until a local meeting takes place, a council has said.

The shelter on Station Approach near the heritage railway station in Sheringham is due to be demolished and replaced after Norfolk County Council said it did not meet modern accessibility standards and was unsafe.

The protesters have been contesting the legality of the eviction attempt and the demolition of the structure.

Demonstrators said bailiffs arrived at the shelter at 04:00 GMT while five protesters were inside, but the county council said it had since asked them to "stand down".

"No works will take place on the bus shelter until after the Sheringham Town Council meeting [on Tuesday]," said a council spokesperson.

One protester, Katie, said bailiffs blocked the shelter off and were not allowing anyone else to enter.

An eviction notice was issued by the council on Friday, saying protesters were "occupying the land illegally" and should leave "immediately".

Demonstrators said there have been people camping at the shelter since 1 December.

They have been contesting the demolition on the basis that the land is owned by Sheringham Town Council.

A Norfolk County Council spokesperson said: "It is correct that the land is owned by Sheringham Town Council, but we currently have control and management of all parts of the site during the construction of the scheme."

On Monday, Steffan Aquarone, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk, said the behaviour of bailiffs earlier that morning was "outrageous".

"These constituents are not going anywhere," he said.

"It's time for the county council to realise they have lost this argument and come back to the table and sort it out."

He believed the council had displayed an "unwillingness" to engage.

"My hope is that the public meeting will come up with a common sense solution that will please everybody," he said.

Norfolk County Council has said it held a three-week public consultation in May over its Sheringham Travel Hub project, which included the installation of the new bus stop.

On Friday, Graham Plant, the Conservative Norfolk County Council cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said the authority had followed "all correct legal and procedural requirements".

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