TAXI drivers have now dispersed from Bromsgrove Railway Station after being told by district councillor Sean Shannon that he had arranged for the temporary reinstatement of the replacement rank organised originally by Bromsgrove District Council.

Councillor Shannon who had represented the ward until the boundary changes last May, had originally organised a temporary rank near the station, but it was closed just before Christmas following concerns that taxi drivers weren't making any use of it.

Protestors have said that members of the public had used the temporary rank as a parking space and because the original rank was still in place at that point, they didn't complain, however the rank inside the station was removed by construction workers overnight, leaving taxi drivers with nowhere to safely pick up and drop off customers.

Councillor Shannon said: "I arranged for a temporary taxi rank last year, and some of the cabbies used it some didn’t. It wasn’t being fully utilised so we had it recinded, and the lines taken away, but this morning a big fence was put up around the cabbies' spaces.

"I’ve been into the council. I’ve discussed it with the council’s solicitor and a pragmatic solution will be to put the temporary cab rank into use. I’ve been back to see the cabbies and I’m hoping it will be done by the weekend."

Lee Eacock representative for Bromsgrove Taxi Association, added: "What we’ve said is give it a week and if by next Wednesday it’s still not resolved we’ll do the same again."