CAMPAIGNERS are celebrating after plans to rebuild the new bus shelter at Yate Bus Station were agreed.

South Gloucestershire Council and Tesco have signed up to an improvements package of the much-maligned canopy shelter, which passengers have heavily criticised as being too small and having no protection from the elements and little seating.

Town councillor Chris Willmore, who has been leading calls for a redesign, said this week: "South Gloucestershire Council has listened and done what residents said.

"It has been six months of battle but what we are going to get is a really nice bus shelter. It is not going to be perfect but it is going to be big enough and it is going to be dry."

The agreement means £40,000 will be taken from a pot of money that Tesco, as part of the redevelopment of its supermarket in Yate Shopping Centre, had already paid for transport consultants to reassess the town’s main roads.

The cash will fund an enclosed bus shelter within the existing canopy which includes additional seating, two entrances and vandal-proof glass. The area will be covered by Yate’s CCTV system.

Bus shelter campaigner Michael Dollin welcomed the announcement.

He said: "Obviously it is a good thing that we are getting an improved bus shelter and that it will be acceptable to everyone, although I do have concerns about whether it will be big enough.

"The focus now should be to ensure something like this never happens again, in Yate or anywhere in South Gloucestershire. It is important that lessons are learned."

A spokesman for South Gloucestershire Council said: "Following the consultation with Yate Town Council, Dominion and Tesco, officers of the council have met with the town councillors to review the preferred shelter option.

"At the meeting, discussion focussed on a number of details that had been raised during the consultation such as design, size, and seating options.

"The design has now been sent to the manufacturer for costing and provided this is within our budget the shelter will be ordered and installed as soon as possible."

Campaigners hope the new shelter will be in place by September.