Cr Dean Saul withdrew a motion in support of local residents that have called for a shelter on Cyrus Saul Cct, where more than 20 schoolchildren wait for their daily morning buses.

Instead, he supported a re-worked motion tabled by Cr Anthony Patterson that favours a more strategic and two-pronged approach.

It called on Kempsey Shire Council to review bus infrastructure arrangements at Frederickton, in conjunction with bus companies, Roads and Maritime Services and the Local Traffic Committee.

Council officials will also prepare a report that will determine a service standard for the provision of bus shelters within the shire.

The report will establish whether there is a need to fund and provide shelters for bus passengers as a matter of council policy.

That motion attracted unanimous support from councillors.

It followed a long debate about the suitability of the existing interchange arrangement and whether Frederickton should be given priority if a shelter is available.

Frederickton resident Ivor Gamlin pleaded the case at Tuesday’s monthly meeting for the provision of cover for students from five years old to high school age.

He said - as a former policeman - he considered the Cyrus Saul Cct location as safe, suitable and well supervised, and told the meeting children often dashed for cover under the eaves of nearby homes when it rained.

The unofficial interchange was not identified as a suitable location, when it was last reviewed – before the village was bypassed as part of the Pacific Hwy upgrade.

It was argued during the councillors’ debate an alternate location could be designated as the best place for an interchange in any future review, rendering a bus shelter at Cyrus Saul Cct as futile in the long-term.