Works to deliver the Sheringham Travel Hub scheme have stopped at the current time following a decision made by Sheringham Town Council on 9 December 2025 to revoke their support. Removal of the brick bus shelter was an essential part of the Travel Hub scheme to remove the pinch point created by the narrow footway and address safety concerns brought about by passengers waiting at this busy stop and pedestrians accessing the nearby toilets and North Norfolk Railway.
The land and bus shelter are owned by Sheringham Town Council and they have stated that they now need to consider how to take this site forwards.
Commitments about how funding for bus improvements is being spent in Norfolk to the end of March 2026 have been made to government and in order to ensure that no funding is lost, the unused funding for the Travel Hub has been reallocated to other bus schemes in the county. This includes installing one of the bespoke bus shelters at the other end of the North Norfolk railway line in Holt, with real-time passenger information also being installed at this location, and real-time passenger information enhancements to the Cringleford interchange on the edge of Norwich. Government has recently announced multi-year funding for Norfolk for bus service improvements but no decisions have yet been made on how this future allocation of funding will be utilised.
We are involved in discussions with the Town Council, as the representatives of the people of Sheringham and landowner of the site, regarding the current situation with the site and buses serving Sheringham.
Whilst the Station Approach bus stop remains in its current format with the narrow congested footway, buses are unable to safely serve this stop. Therefore all Wells and Holt-bound services will continue to use the nearest existing bus stop opposite Tesco. Updated bus timetables will be published in due course and we are currently looking at the technical feasibility of installing a bus shelter for waiting passengers at the new location.
Cllr Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure said:
"The bus shelter and adjacent land is owned by the Town Council and they are now deciding what they wish to do with their site. We are involved in ongoing discussions with the Town Council, as the representatives of the people of Sheringham and will continue to engage with them in the future. Meanwhile we continue to deliver schemes and make improvements across Norfolk which are making a real difference to bus services and the people who use them."
Were alternative schemes looked at?
Alternative scheme options were previously explored in the development of the original proposals and it is not possible to deliver a revised scheme in Sheringham that is compliant with national guidelines and which addresses safety concerns whilst the existing shelter remains in its current location, as it is too close to the pavement edge to give a wide enough space for bus passengers and pedestrians at this very busy location.
We have discussed this position with Sheringham Town Council and as they are the landowner of the site, they are considering how best to take the site forwards.
An alternative option of widening the existing footway into the road, which would necessitate a one-way traffic circulation, was previously considered early on in the scheme's development but was discounted due to adverse impacts this would have had on traffic flows across a much wider area, affecting all highway users, residents and local businesses.
Funding arrangements
In order to meet the project spend commitments we had made to government for bus improvements in Norfolk by the end of March 2026, remaining funds that had been allocated to Sheringham will be reallocated to alternative projects that also improve our transport interchanges.
The original scheme budget was was £350k but that was increased to £580k to accommodate the bespoke shelter design and wider changes requested by the local community through the public consultation.
Please see further background on the scheme's development below and our engagement with key stakeholders.
Project development/timeline
August 2022
Norfolk County Council awarded £49.6m (£31m capital, £18.6 revenue) over 3 years to improve bus services in Norfolk (Extended until March 2026).
September 2022
Sheringham Travel Hub identified as a potential scheme in our Bus Service Improvement Plan(BSIP) through our Enhanced Partnership with local bus operators.
February 2023
Initial engagement with Sheringham Town Council (STC) on the travel hub concept.
March 2023
Sheringham Town Council commissions an internal Task & Finish Group to manage the Travel Hub project.
April 2023
Sheringham Town Council passes a motion to support the scheme.
May 2024
Meeting held with Sheringham Town Council and the North Norfolk Railway (NNR) regarding the project and potential acquisition of Otterndorf Green by STC.
October 2024
North Norfolk Railway agrees to a sale in principle, subject to a Heads of Terms agreement.
Chaplin Farrant Architects commissioned to produce public realm designs
December 2024
Meeting held with North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) Head of Planning to review the scheme and confirm that works could proceed under permitted development rights, with no planning application required.
February 2025
Site meeting held with NCC, Sheringham Town Council, and North Norfolk Railway.
March 2025
Sheringham Town Council passes a motion agreeing to support the Chaplin Farrant design.
NCC commences detailed design work.
May 2025
NCC launches a three-week public consultation on draft proposals for the site which ran from 2-26 May, with 2 open day events held on 14 May
The consultation was well promoted with multiple stories in the local media and social media posts which reached more than 100,000 people online, generating more than 500 responses.
Plans were displayed on Town Council noticeboards and at the North Norfolk Railway throughout the consultation, and we had excellent attendance at the two open events held in Sheringham where many people who were originally against the scheme went away in favour having listened to the proposals. In addition, the consultation was highlighted in the EDP and Sheringham Independent, which is distributed to all local households.
All statutory consultees were contacted directly about the consultation.
The original proposals put out to consultation can be viewed below and clearly state the existing brick shelter would be replaced.
While 74% were opposed to the scheme, only 19% of respondents to the online consultation said that they wanted the old shelter to stay.
The suggestion that Norfolk County Council ignored residents is simply not correct. We carefully reviewed every response to the Sheringham consultation and made clear changes to the scheme as a result which are illustrated below.
A consultation is not a referendum on whether the scheme should go ahead but an opportunity for residents to shape the final design. We were clear from the start that retaining the existing shelter was not possible due to the safety concerns regarding the insufficient pavement space surrounding it for the volume of people using the area.
The biggest concern raised in the consultation was about the scheme being a 'waste of money' however it's important to be clear that this funding can only be used for improving bus infrastructure and the experience of bus users, which was also highlighted in the feedback provided.
June 2025
Sheringham In Bloom, Colin Seal (artist of the mural in the original shelter) and Sheringham Museum join the project following a review of consultation feedback. Work to provide a bespoke bus shelter design that encompasses the Victorian Heritage of the area begins.
Cllr Judy Oliver (local member for the area) updated on changes proposed following the consultation, in line with council protocol. No issues raised.
September 2025
Consultation feedback published and updated scheme design communicated via press, social media and the project webpage. This news was well received with no issues raised.
October 2025
Sheringham Town Council completes the acquisition of Ottendorf Green.
16 October 2025
Public information for start of works issued and publicised in local press.
No concerns raised.
27 October 2025
Construction of the Sheringham Travel Hub begins, programmed for 18 weeks.
No concerns raised.
20 November 2025
We are first made aware of a petition to save the shelter - 4 weeks into the construction.
An application to list the shelter with Historic England is also made, which they declined, stating:
given its late date, it does not exhibit the architectural interest and technological innovation seen in the most significant examples of the building type
This example is more typical of the norm and does not fulfil the strict criteria for the assessment of post-war architecture
the integrity of the shelter's original design has been compromised by the loss of its original metal-framed windows
Whilst the bus shelter on Station Approach, Sheringham, contributes to the local street scene, it does not have the requisite architectural and historic interest to merit listing in a national context.
1 December 2025
Protesters occupy the shelter.
5 December 2025
Bailiffs were instructed to remove the protestors as they continued to occupy a live construction site.
Whilst the protests were peaceful in nature, those present were trespassing on a cordoned off live construction site which has safety implications both for our workforce, the protesters themselves and the general public in the immediate area.
Therefore, we were quite within our rights to attempt to remove those who should not be on the construction site. All necessary legal advice and processes were followed and we acted appropriately and proportionally in our attempts to make the site safe.
9 December 2025
Sheringham Town Council held a public meeting, where local councillors narrowly voted (6 votes to 5) to save the shelter and revoke their support to develop the land, 7 weeks into construction.
10 December 2025
We began our withdrawal from the site and commenced a review of funding and future arrangements for bus services in the area as stated above.
January 2026
Remaining project funding reallocated.
Consultation details
In May 2025 we sought views on behalf of Sheringham Town Council for improving the accessibility and safety of everyone using the area on Station Approach known as Otterndorf Green:
The proposals to provide a new Travel Hub for the town are part of Norfolk County Council's Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP). The Government's Bus Grant will fund the work. The Bus Grant aims to:
Improve bus services across the county
Enhance passenger experience at key locations
Current view of Station Approach
How the new travel hub could look
The improvements will include:
Replacement of the existing brick bus shelter, providing improved safety and accessibility, with lighting and a larger waiting area for passengers
Passenger travel information in real time via a digital screen
A wider pavement on the south side of Station Approach, providing more space for waiting passengers and those passing on foot
New cycle parking, equipped with a cycle repair station.
New seating areas and a wayfinding totem to aid visitors
A water bottle filling station
Enhancement of public realm areas to create a spacious meeting point
An interactive timeline of the town's history incorporated into the paving
Soft landscaping
Installation of a new bus shelter and widened footway at the western end of Station Approach (outside the putting green)
Contact
If you have any queries about the project please email [email protected]. Read our privacy notice to find out how we use your personal information.
Background
This budget for this scheme was £358,000. The funding for the scheme is NCC's Bus Grant and £8,000 funding from Sheringham Town Council.
We can only use the Bus Grant for bus service improvements. We cannot use it to fund other council services or initiatives.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has awarded the County Council nearly £50m of funding for its Bus Service Improvement Plan. Our BSIP aims to improve bus services and infrastructure facilities across the county. The plan includes measures such as:
Integrated travel hubs
New and more frequent services
Improvements to infrastructure which remove delays for buses
