AN ELDERLY Clackmannan man continues to wage war on the local authority over bus shelter provision in the area.

As previously reported, resident Sandy Madden, 72, petitioned Clackmannanshire Council after a revamp of bus shelters, which saw one removed from his street, as part of a project that looked to spruce up parts of the town.

The Port Street resident wants to make sure elderly bus users are protected from the elements when waiting on services.

The shelter on his street, which stood there for four decades, was removed and at the end of last year, it was revealed only a bench would be in place going forward.

Replying to Sandy’s petition in a letter, council executive director Gary Dallas, said that erecting more shelters at Port Street, as well as on Lochies Road, “would be an over provision”.

He went on to say: “In seeking the best location for a single shelter to replace the one removed last year from Port Street and assuming a reasonable walking distance of no more than 200m (220yards) from the previous site and taking account of proximity to the next, nearest bus shelter, the number of nearby houses and the number of passengers reported as using the bus stops, I am also satisfied that the most equitable location for a replacement bus shelter is at Lochies Road immediately east of the eastern boundary of Clackmannan Primary School.”

The executive director said this was less than 100m from the previous shelter, adding: “Further, I found no compelling evidence to suggest that the bus stop on Lochies Road will further emphasise the benefit of placing the shelter at this location.”

Mr Madden, refused to back down, however and said: “The reason for the bus shelter at the park in Port Street is it’s the nearest bus stop with shelter to Chapel Hill and South Pilmuir.

“The distance from the lock up garages in Chapel Hill to the Port Street bus stop is 500m.

“By excluding this large part of the community from this nearest bus shelter in Port Street, you are forcing people to walk a further 110m along Lochies Road battling against wind and rain or risk exposure at the Port Street stop through lack of shelter.”

Using Google Maps, the Advertiser found the Lochies Road bus stop is slightly closer than the one at Port Street from the aforementioned lock ups.