AN information centre based in Wrexham Bus Station has been closed with immediate effect.

It comes as Wrexham Council has chosen to terminate its contract with the company responsible for running it.

Concerns were raised last month after it was revealed that Transervis Ltd, formerly known as the Skiers Lodge, had entered liquidation.

The firm, which previously ran bus services in the county under the name of easyCoach, was also banned from transporting passengers earlier this year.

It followed a damning report by the Traffic Commissioner for Wales, who highlighted a string of safety issues, including an incident where a wheel came off one of its buses on the A483.

Company owner Andrew Martin claimed the authority had chosen to pull the plug at short notice yesterday, meaning staff were only told they would be losing their jobs last night.

Mr Martin, who has been banned from holding a transport licence for two years after being accused of arrogance by the commissioner, also accused the council of being ‘short-sighted’.

He said: “We had been working with the council over the last few months to seek the assignment of the contract to one of our other companies so that the information office could continue functioning and providing an uninterrupted service to the general public, as well as ensuring protection for the jobs of the staff.

“This was permitted under the terms of the agreement with the council.

“However, for reasons known only to themselves, we were notified at short notice yesterday that the council would not be further permitting the assignment and wished to end the contract with immediate effect as of 31st July 2019.

“This meant that we had to deliver the bad news at very short notice to the staff yesterday evening.

“It is a shame that the council have decided to act like this in a very short-sighted way, when other alternatives were available to them, which has not only cost the staff their jobs but also means that the information office has to close and stop providing a much-needed and much-used service to the users of the bus station.”

Mr Martin’s company was awarded a three-year contract for his firm to oversee the bus station information centre by Wrexham Council in 2018.

But following the Traffic Commissioner’s verdict, concerns were raised about its suitability to continue assisting commuters in Wrexham.

The amounts owed by Transervis at the time of its liquidation included £53,000 to HMRC, £34,000 to Barclays Bank and £20,000 to employees, as well as a director’s loan of £43,000 from Mr Martin himself.

Last month, the company’s sole director insisted the proceedings would not impact the running of the information centre, stating that its long term future was assured.

However, Wrexham Council’s lead member for environment and transport said it would now be considering how the office will be run in the future following the termination of the contract.

Cllr David A Bithell said: “Officers have made the decision to terminate the contract with immediate effect.

“This will in the short term affect the operation of the bus information shop.

“It is unfortunate that the council has had to take the decision to terminate the contract and we must now consider the options as how best to move forward ensuring that residents and visitors to Wrexham have the means to access accurate and up-to-date timetable information.”

He added that the council had been working with the Welsh Government on the improvements to the bus station.

The award of grant funding has enabled the refurbishment of the existing toilets, as well as the installation of new electronic information screens and enhanced CCTV coverage.