Travel shop moving after front 'treated like toilet'

A transport operator has announced it will relocate its travel centre after people were using it "as a toilet" at night.

Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has operated its shop in South Parade, next to Old Market Square in the city centre, since September 2001.

But from 16 February, it said it would instead move to the bottom of Lister Gate, over concerns for the "welfare" of staff in its current location as well as a change in customer habits.

Anthony Carver‑Smith, head of marketing and projects at the operator, said: "Some mornings we've come into the entirety of our front covered in rubbish, litter, and human faeces - which is just awful."

The travel centre is where people can buy travel passes, top up travel cards, and collect lost property.

Carver-Smith said there had been an "ongoing issue" for years with issues outside of the property.

"The welfare of our staff is important to us.

"Many times our staff are turning up to find that their first job of the day is actually clearing away human waste, which really isn't acceptable.

"We've been looking to relocate for nearly two years... and were very close to signing deals for King Street, Clumber Street, for Parliament Street, but they ultimately fell through," he said.

He described the new Lister Gate location as "up and coming" and better for footfall.

The BBC also spoke to commuters who use the shop, with many criticising the new shop location as being further away from the centre of the city.

But Carver-Smith argued Old Market Square footfall was relatively low, and said there were no bus services running nearby.

"We're behind a tram stop, and we don't have any dealings with operation of the trams," he said.

He added the move would re-affirm NCT's commitment to having a physical presence in the city.

"In lots of other towns and cities across the country, even locally, other operators don't necessarily have travel centres and see them as an unnecessary expense," he said.

Tram operator Nottingham Express Transit (NET) closed its city travel centre last year.

"We could have took a similar view," Carver-Smith said.

"I think having a travel centre, admittedly not as central, will cause a few people a bit of inconvenience, but it provides us with a better facility for our staff and a better facility that recognises how people interact with us."

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