Destroyed bus shelter to be rebuilt one year after crash
The bus shelter in Pound Lane will be sorted in a matter of weeks - Credit: Archant
A retired teacher who spent afternoons shivering wile waiting for a bus is "thrilled to bits" that a shelter will be rebuilt more than a year after it was knocked down.
The structure in Pound Lane near the Dussindale Centre and Sainsbury's supermarket in Thorpe St Andrew was badly damaged on January 2 after a First Eastern Counties vehicle crashed into it on January 2, 2021.
The First Eastern Counties bus that crashed into the bus shelter in front of the Pound Lane Sainsbury's supermarket in Thorpe St Andrew on January 2, 2021 - Credit: Kiera Davies
Nobody was injured and the mess was cleaned up quickly but calls to rebuild it started in the summer.
People turned to the Evening News as part of the We'll Sort It campaign - which fixes people's problems in Norwich.
And Jill Wigy from St Williams Way was chuffed to have the shelter back as she uses the bus to get to the shops twice a week.
The 77-year-old said: "I'm thrilled to bits. I haven't been using the bus recently because of the cold spell and I did not want to be standing out in the cold.
"It will make all the difference in the world. It is not only important to have a shelter in cold weather. It also helps when it is hot."
Jill Wigy, from Thorpe St Andrew, who is thrilled that the Pound Lane bus shelter is being rebuilt after it was knocked down over a year ago - Credit: Sophie Wyllie
Conservative district and town councillor, Jonathan Emsell, is also the manager of the Dussindale Trust's community centre, who said First Buses put in the accident report to its insurance firm after the crash.
But he claimed the delay in replacing the shelter was caused by confusion over who owned the bus shelter.
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The shelter, built with finds from Sainsbury's around 30 years ago, was on land passed to Dussindale Trust which owns the Dussindale Centre.
Mr Emsell has now managed to secure funding from the First insurance company and said the covered shelter could be rebuilt in a few weeks' time and managed by the trust.
Jonathan Emsell, Conservative town and district councillor for Thorpe St Andrew, who is also manager of the Dussindale Centre - Credit: Broadland District Council
He said: "If something happens to it again it will be dealt with straight away.
"If you have bags of shopping it is important for people to have shelter."
David Jordan, First Eastern Counties marketing manager, said: “We are pleased the situation has been resolved and a new shelter will be installed.
“Such provision is a clear incentive to use the bus which makes a clear contribution to improving air quality and traffic congestion."
