Hurrah for Hendrick after Minister Ben Bradshaw rejects bus bid
28 Jan 2010
Mark is celebrating today (Thursday 28th January 2010) as the Secretary of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon Ben Bradshaw MP, has decided not to list Preston Bus Station as a building with sufficient architectural or historic interest. The decision will mean that the ambitious Tithebarn Redevelopment Scheme can now go ahead, subject to the planning decision of Preston City Council being upheld in the public enquiry. A new state-of-the-art bus station will be sited in a more convenient location within the city, when Tithebarn is given the go head.
The Secretary of State came to the decision, after considering evidence and representations from both English Heritage and Preston City Council and following a visit by Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Minister for Culture and Tourism, who personally inspected the Bus Station and Car Park earlier this month. He stated that the building was not an ‘original concept’ and that ‘neither the design nor the methods used have the qualities of innovative planning or structural interest required to merit statutory listing.’
Mark said: “This is an excellent outcome for the City, because this means that we can now concentrate on progressing the Tithebarn Redevelopment Scheme. The people that use the Bus Station can now look forward to a better, brighter design in a more convenient location which will be linked closer to the shopping and business districts of the city. The Bus Station and Car Park may well have been fitting at the time of it’s inception in the 60’s but in 2010, it is tired, worn out, and unsafe. The people of Preston deserve a better central hub to enable and encourage them to use public transport within the city. For many people coming into the City, either on a bus route or using the Car Park, their first impression of the City is formed based on their experience of the Bus Station.”
The Bus Station will make way for a new John Lewis store in its place as part of the regeneration scheme which will also include new shops, cafes, bars, offices, homes, a new cinema and revitalised Markets.