Swansea man claims he can't sell his house because a bus stop blocks the driveway

A Swansea man has claimed that a bus shelter in front of his driveway is preventing him from selling his house.

Simon Williams is attempting to have the bus shelter removed from outside the Goetre Fawr Road property in Killay.

He says the property was in a derelict state, without a kitchen or bathroom, when he bought it last August.

Mr Williams planned to refurbish and sell the house, and expected that he would be able to get the bus shelter removed.

"Every single person who is viewing the house is saying the same thing - that the bus shelter is putting them off. You can see that shelter is smack bang in the middle of my drive," Mr Williams said.

He claims that a site meeting arranged with a representative of the council resulted in an agreement to take the shelter down - at his expense - and reinstall it at a different location, something he was happy to go along with.

However, Swansea Council stated it had no plans to relocate the bus shelter.

Last month, Mr Williams says he found an investor who was interested in buying the house and the plot, with a sum of money agreed.

However, the deal was dependant on written confirmation from the council's highway department on the bus shelter being relocated.

But, three weeks ago, Mr Williams claims he received a phone call informing him that the council had "overturned the decision" and was no longer planning to grant permission for the relocation. "A lot of bus stops haven't even got bus shelters, they just have posts with a sign on it. The bus doesn't even stop outside the shelter, because if it did, it would be half on the road because it is at the end and located at a terrible location," Mr Williams added.

"When I'm coming in and out of my drive, I literally have to look through the bus shelter to check if there's cars coming because it's right in my visibility. It's a safety issue more than anything as well, that's what I'm more concerned about."

Swansea Council officers have said that the bus stop has been there for over 50 years and is in "constant use."

But Mr Williams said he felt the bus shelter created visibility issues, leaving him unable to drive in and out of his driveway safely, creating the potential for accidents.

He says that he would fund any changes and that there would be no expense to the council.A spokesman for Swansea Council said: "The council has been in touch with the resident and confirmed that the bus shelter has been in place for more than 50 years and provides an important element in the public transport infrastructure within the community.

"The shelter continues to be well used by locals and there are no plans to relocate the shelter to an alternative position."