Brighton city centre residents' anger over temporary bus stop

Old Steine bus stop Z in Brighton has been used by coaches heading to London and elsewhere after Pool Valley Coach Station was closed due to the fire at the Royal Albion Hotel in July.

However, Old Steine residents are now up in arms about coaches arriving at all hours of the day, saying passengers are causing a nuisance for those who live in the area.

Gary Farmer, founder of the Old Steine Residents’ Association, said the regular use of the bus stop by National Express services had “a massive impact on the quality of life for residents of Old Steine”.

He said: “The coach arrivals and departures include an audio warning, which reaches all the way up to the fifth floor in the surrounding residences.

“There are queues of people blocking the pavement all along Old Steine, making it impossible for pedestrians and vulnerable people to use the pavement safely.

“We can have three or four coaches here and anywhere between 20 to 50 people waiting and blocking the street with suitcases.

“Passengers sit on doorsteps, block fire exits, leave litter and food, talk, shout and leave luggage in the street and doorways.

“Many residents cannot sleep, especially those on the ground floor or basement levels, as it continues relentlessly day in and day out.”

Residents in Old Steine have complained about coach passengers blocking pavements and doorways along the road (Image: Gary Farmer)

Mr Farmer has urged councillors to move the pick-up point to a “more suitable location” away from homes.

He said: “We all have basically had enough of the disruption to our lives. It is nonsensical and has not been properly thought through. No care or consideration has been made for this situation.

“It is chaotic and no end seems to be in sight.”

Council leader Bella Sankey said that the council “will be working with National Express to see what can be done to make their use of bus stop Z less intrusive for local residents”.

“Mr Farmer has recently been in touch with me and a number of Labour councillors and we’ve invited him to join a city centre taskforce walkabout and offered to tour the Old Steine with him to listen to his concerns.”

A spokeswoman for National Express said they were "sorry to hear" of the concerns expressed by residents.

She said: "We work hard to run our services in a way that respects the communities in which we operate, while providing safe and convenient arrival and departure points for our customers.

"Due to the ongoing works at Pool Valley and the surrounding area, we have worked closely with Brighton and Hove City Council to identify an alternative stopping location that meets our criteria but also ensures the overall journey time of the service is not impacted negatively.

"Our coaches are currently using the nearby Old Steine (stop Z) until further notice, providing good links with local transport options for the hundreds of thousands of customers we carry on our Brighton services each year.

"We will continue to work with Brighton and Hove City Council to maintain and improve our customer offering while investigating the concerns of local residents."