By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Bus shelters across Nottingham could be fitted with wildflower roofing, better lighting and digital advertising to bring in more money for the City Council under a new improvement plan.
There are more than 800 bus shelters in the city, and around 213 are fitted with advertisement boards.
These bring in an income for the council, but this is offset by the ongoing supply and maintenance of the 25-year-old shelters.
This means the current contract with advertising firm JCDecaux is cost-neutral and does not make the council any money.
However, the contract comes to an end in December 2024, and the Labour-run authority says this presents an opportunity to renew the shelter network and generate up to £6m in income over 15 years by installing digital advertising instead.
The plans will be discussed during a Commissioning and Procurement Executive Committee meeting on January 9.
“The appointment of the supplier and the subsequent new contract provides an opportunity to upgrade the street furniture estate to include digital advertising where appropriate, from both the council and supplier perspectives and to increase the revenue generation from the digital assets and an increased income for the council,” documents say.
“Commercially, the primary goal is to seek as high a net income overall on the contract as possible whilst having high-quality waiting facilities for passengers that contain the basic set of fundamental requirements of appropriate level of cover, seating and lighting.
“The more capital investment involved in requesting various add-ons will only reduce the overall net income to the council.
“Suppliers will be asked to provide costs for optional add-on features, including options to improve the natural environment, for consideration and inclusion as and when required or when future grant funding is secured.”
All bus shelters will have to be replaced or refurbished, and the new contract and additional income could also allow for other improvements including wildflower roofing and better lighting.
Relevant organisations, including Nottingham University Hospitals, Trent Barton, NCT, CT4N, the University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University and Bilborough Sixth Form College were invited to provide comments on the plans.
While the top comments concerned adequate seating, cover and lighting, some said it may be a chance to install ‘green roofing’, whereby flowers are planted on top of the shelters to increase biodiversity.
“The headline requests included enhancing the biodiversity offer such as green or wildflower meadow roofs, LED lighting, solar panels where possible and options for appropriate seating and shelter options, ensuring visibility and appropriate coverage, and the continuation of a high standard of maintenance and cleaning,” documents add.
“The bus shelters should be passively safe to avoid vehicle collisions that may result in serious or fatal casualties and digital images should be appropriate for the location and should not obstruct visibility on highways and particularly at junctions.”
The option of installing WiFi at shelters will also be investigated.
