Council scraps £3.8m floating bus stop after emergency services warn it is 'putting lives at risk'

A council has decided to scrap a £3.8million floating bus stop after its installation led to increased traffic and difficulties for emergency services.

Shropshire Council has voted to remove the Castle Foregate cycle lane and the floating bus stop at the Shrewsbury Station Gyratory, which were installed as part of the council’s Big Town Plan.

The Shrewsbury Big Town Plan brands itself as “ambitious and bold, reshaping the physical public realm and matching it with an outstanding public experience.”

The scheme has already seen £39million spent on the North West Relief Road, which has now been cancelled with no benefits to residents.

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The council has now voted to remove the controversial bus stop and cycle lane, that were also introduced as part of the scheme.

The installation drew attention due to its lack of accordance with national guidelines.

The floating bus stop island, which is around 1.1 metres in width, falls significantly below the Department of Transport rules, which dictate it must be 2.5 metres wide.

In April 2025, the DofT issued guidance against using this type of design for bus stops. The bus stop was then installed at the Shrewsbury Station Gyratory in October last year.

Firefighters have been videoed struggling to respond to emergencies due to the gridlock caused by the new design.

The chair of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Authority has previously told a council scrutiny committee the situation was "putting lives and property at risk."

The gridlock caused by the redesign has meant that fire engines need to drive over the floating bus stop to respond to emergencies.

A Stage 3 Road Safety Audit was received by the council in March 2026 and has not been published.

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Councillor Brendan Mallon, Shropshire Reform UK Deputy Group Leader, told GB News: “This is a sorry tale of disastrous public spending of huge sums on a project that was of dubious value, much like the similarly funded White Elephant that is the Riverside project.

“The cycle lane was an abject failure of concept and design. It did not effectively link up with the existing cycle network and the planned extension into the heart of the town had to be terminated as they realised how unsafe it was after they had already commenced construction.

“The extremely short ‘cycle lane to nowhere’ that was completed is itself unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists, both with regards to the infamous ’floating bus stop’, as well as the conflict between cyclists and road traffic accessing the station junctions and the junction with Howard Street.

“Shropshire Council should not be trusted with another large infrastructure project until a root-and-branch review is conducted into the concept, design, planning, oversight and quality assurance failures apparent with this fiasco.”

Shrewsbury Reform UK Chairman, Craig Sandiford, said: “This month we have seen Shropshire council's cabinet U-turn on the Castle Foregate gyratory, recommending the removal of the floating bus stop and the installation of either two lanes of traffic, or a dedicated bus/taxi, emergency lane and general traffic.

“Having been the only party in the council to challenge this. We collected, analysed and presented solid data and evidence to support our position of reversing the damage this scheme is doing to the town.

“Although Reform stood alone, our submissions were found to be credible and were unchallenged.”

The council is now exploring options to develop replacement traffic solutions to mitigate the traffic and safety concerns caused.

GB News has contacted Shropshire Council for comment.

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