'There's no money? Find it!' says Thurso community activist over bus shelter concerns
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A community activist thinks special Covid funds for the Thurso area could have been better allocated to help in the refurbishment of local bus shelters.
Wick and Thurso Wards were both allocated £100k of Place-Based Investment Funds in August last year with play parks, bus shelters and sports pitches earmarked as areas to benefit.
Thurso activist Alexander Glasgow thinks that the money allocated to Ward 2 (Thurso and Northwest Caithness) was well spent on work done to parks at the Dammies and Ormlie but feels that bus shelters should have been allocated some of the funds to refurbish and upgrade them too.
"As can be seen, Ward 3 community councils [for Wick and east Caithness area] asked for bus shelters, and got them," he said. "Was Thurso Community Council aware of it and did they put forward proposals? Ward 2 councillors allocated up to £60k for playing fields at Ormlie and Sir George's Park, aka the Dammies, with up to £40k play area maintenance especially in Landward."
The rationale was that "improving open and shared spaces aids wellbeing", he added.
Mr Glasgow said that the Ward 3 councillors' allocation included up to £35k for infrastructure projects on bus shelters with one long running concern being for schoolchildren at Lyth. "Two of the criteria for the fund are direct health harms and societal impacts, and I am led to believe Councillor Bremner made this innovative argument."
"Following a recent Facebook posting by Cllr Bremner announcing a deep-clean contract by Highland Council for Caithness bus shelters, I and others in Thurso highlighted to him four bus shelters in Thurso in need of repair.
"I have to say is that Cllr Bremner shows incredible vim and always is willing to listen to residents from outwith his ward, and it is comforting to many in Caithness he is that dedicated. I have noticed a number of Ward 2 residents requesting he make intercessions on their behalf."
Mr Glasgow pointed out missing panels in some of the facilities along with a lack of general upkeep and that a bus stop outside Traill House does not have any shelter "exposing passengers directly to the elements".
He said that although BEAR Scotland is responsible for siting bus stops and road markings it is Highland Council responsibility to installing bus shelters and to maintain them.
"Could these projects have been funded from elsewhere? Will the bus shelters identified at Dunnet and Barrock be repaired under this tranche?
"There's no money? Find it! Stop the silo mentality. Perhaps this can be linked to Spaces for People and Active Travel initiatives, and Sustrans funding or even the Public Arts Strategy. I have an interest in, and have raised similar at recent stakeholder group meetings after some unjustly negative comments."
Thurso and Northwest Caithness councillor Matthew Reiss said: "Each Ward is different and will decide what members judge are the priorities. There's always a very long list of deserving causes and Alexander's correct [in highlighting] bus shelters and particularly the non-existent one. I've had very few comments about bus shelters myself and can't comment for my Ward colleagues but we are always open to suggestions."
Thurso and Northwest Caithness councillor Karl Rosie said: "We are aware of bus shelter issues throughout the county and we have been working with our Ward 3, Wick and East Caithness colleagues to understand how best to be able to facilitate their repair across Caithness.
"I understand that our Ward 3 colleagues have set aside funding for bus shelter replacement and that includes Ward 2 bus shelter replacement. The tendering process for bus shelters has now been concluded and provided an understanding of the various available specifications and we can now discuss potential future replacement."
Related article:
£100k investments for Wick and Thurso from special Covid fund
