MORE than 20 taxis are currently gathered at Bromsgrove Railway Station as part of a protest against the unexpected removal of the taxi rank there yesterday.

The rank was cordoned off as part of ongoing work to the railway station, and drivers are protesting over the fact that they now have nowhere to pick up or drop off customers.

The drivers were given a new temporary taxi rank by Bromsgrove District Council last year while the works were taking place at the station, but the drivers say it was taken away from them just before Christmas because the council told them it wasn’t being used.

Lee Eacock who represents the Bromsgrove Taxi Association said: “People were parking on it and parking enforcement couldn’t stop them because it wasn’t marked up properly. There’s nowhere for the drivers to go now, nowhere to set down, nowhere to pick up, the whole lot’s going to get totally blocked. It’s ridiculous, it makes it worse because the council gave us a new taxi rank and they took it away from us.”

A council spokesperson said: “The taxi rank was initially installed at the request of a member who subsequently has agreed for it to be removed and replaced with parking. It was never an official rank and is on private land.

“There is a taxi rank included as part of the wider railway station development.”