New new screen for town buses

Users of Bromsgrove bus station have another new electronic departure board after the first was ruined by vandalism before it was even four months old.

The culprit was captured in the act on the District Council’s town centre CCTV cameras and a conviction was successfully brought last month.

The new screen in the town centre station is now up and running after the first one was removed by Worcestershire County Council, having been destroyed by a sustained attack of rubble thrown at the screen.

Leader of Bromsgrove District Council Cllr Roger Hollingworth said: “Across Bromsgrove people can see partners investing to regenerate our town centre and build a better Bromsgrove for everyone - the bus station and its new departure board, the new health centre, the toilets, the new market. Mindless vandalism is completely unacceptable and I am pleased that our CCTV was instrumental in bringing the culprit to task.”

Chris Wilson, of Worcestershire County Council’s Integrated Passenger Transport Department which is responsible for the vandal resistant screen, said the amount of damage sustained was “the worst case of damage to one of these screens the supplier had ever experienced.”

Cllr Anthony Blagg, Local County Councillor for Bromsgrove Central, added: "I am not sure why a very few thoughtless people have the mindset that it is fun to destroy things which are a valuable resource to large numbers of people in the area, but we will continue to improve the facilities in Bromsgrove for all and crack down on people who are acting anti-socially. The electronic departure board is part of the ongoing programme designed to make the town centre an attractive place to work and visit and it is important that both Bromsgrove District and Worcestershire County Council continue to work well together to ensure that aim is fully realised."

The installation of the electronic departure board had been coordinated as part of the Bromsgrove Town Centre Regeneration Programme.