Made In Preston – the blog

Preston Bus Station, Grade II listed.

The campaign to save Preston Bus Station was given a boost this week when the bus station was listed by English Heritage.  This puts the bus station in the top 800 post war heritage buildings in England.

The listing of the building makes it eligible for grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and others. However these are usually only obtained after a protracted application process.

Some big figures for refurbishment have been offered, up to £23m.  Are these realistic?  They’re unlikely to be reduced by listing as there will be a need to preserve listed features. A strategy of prioritising and phasing the work may enable grants to be obtained in easier to achieve smaller applications.

Preston Council are having difficulty balancing their books and are looking for a quick kill.  It should not therefore be considered that this is the end of the story.  We eagerly await their next step and hope it is a positive one.  The potential pots of money totted up along with a pragmatic plan of refurbishment, improvement and integration into the city plan will be more good news.

Lancashire County Council offered support to build a new bus station but not to maintain the old one.  It could be argued their interest has therefore been declared, they obviously have a few million pounds in their budget for Preston Bus Station. Despite Councillor Rankin saying it is an issue for Prestonians, the bus station is a regional hub.

Blackpool have a large £28m development underway in the centre of town for new council offices and refurbished ex-bus station and car park.  Where do they get their funds?

It is said councils can borrow cheaper than private companies.  Let’s be positive, the economy is on the turn, interest rates are very low, is it time to borrow for the bus station.

What does listing mean? 

There are 4 categories of English Heritage listing; I, II* (two star), II, III.  On 23^rd September 2013, Grade II (two) listing was announced.   This means the building is nationally important and of special interest.  Less than 0.2% of listed buildings were built after 1945, this makes it 1 of around 800 post war listed buildings in England.

Listing means that consent must be applied for to make any changes which might affect its special interest.  However it can be altered, extended and occasionally permission is granted to demolish a listed building.

Preston Bus Station is listed entry number 1416042.   Its features of note are its curved concrete front on the car park decks that focus on the great length of the building. The original fittings, floors and signage survive and make an important contribution.  It is an example of 1960s integrated traffic planning.  The listing includes the car park ramps and taxi stand but excludes the 3 passenger subways.

Reference:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/

The Evening Post published a story yesterday that the recommendation of the consultants was to refurbish the bus station.  To add a touch of mystery it is alleged this part was deleted at the request of Lancashire County Council (LCC) before it was shown to Preston Council.

In their defence LCC said the cost of £23m was way outside budget and that the option was also outside of the scope requested.

It has been suggested by others that a refurbishment could be done for much less.  In the absence of any artists impressions or plans for the proposed new bus station it seems Preston Council and the public are being asked to support what could be a pig in a poke.

Read the full story in the Lancashire Evening Post.

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/business/preston-bus-station-report-was-altered-1-5777002

Preston’s Council Leader gave us his version of the Bus Station Blues on the BBC Culture Show last week.  It seems it will be knocked down on the altar of day to day council services and pressure from Lancashire County Council.

If you want to get depressed take a walk from the unloved Bus Station into the Guild Hall Arcade and the Victorian Covered Market.  These buildings all look like time is not on their side.

Also there are a lot of cars on the Bus Station.  Will the Park and Ride on Bluebell Way take the strain.  It’s a long way out, what is the plan.

You might wonder how accountable Lancashire County Council (LCC) is when they can happily offer a new bus station and let Preston’s Council take the blame for knocking down the old one.  Although Preston’s leader said no-one from outside Preston should have a say,  it seems LCC is having a big say.

Stoke’s £15m Bus Station opens 1st April 2013

Could LCC offer anything like Stoke’s £15m new Bus Station with 22 bays, half of Preston’s need. Built on a car park so no demolition cost involved.  Yet the cost of Preston’s new bus station, which will be twice as big and include demolition won’t be much different.

Is there a message here that Preston is going to get a second rate bus station, a bus shelter perhaps with an Eaga Bites van parked at the entrance.  What does this say about Preston?

Preston Bus Station under threat along with the Market Hall

On Monday 17th December 2012 Preston Council will have what may be their biggest day for a long time.  Transforming the face of Preston for 100 years.  Here is the list of demolitions taken from the Preston Council website, sounds easy if you look at it quickly:

‘It is recommended that Cabinet agrees:
2.1 The closure and demolition of the Market Hall, Car Park and Lancastria House;
2.2 The relocation of the Markets Operation: The design, location and scale of the replacement will be determined by the business case including sustainability, current traders’ requirements, funds, and heritage considerations. (A key objective is to preserve the character of the Market Canopies);
2.3 To instruct the Corporate Management Team to bring forward proposals for redevelopment of the Markets Quarter including refurbishment of the Market Canopies;
2.4 In principle, to demolish the Bus Station and Car Park and devise proposals to bring forward the site for development;
2.5 Delegate to the Corporate Management Team the authority to negotiate with the County Council a development scheme for the Bus Station and Car Park site.’

Knock down the Market Hall, yes please!

Refurbish the market canopies, yes please!

Knock down the Market Car Park, indifferent.

Knock down Lancastria House, the old Co-op, an attractive and worthy building. No!

Knock down the bus station, surely not!

The report, quite rightly, is is a long read. It sounds like the council is in trouble with its buildings, but I could list a few dozen repairs needed to our house but it will manage without. The council are trying to protect services.

Without reading it in full it is hoped the council isn’t making decisions that in the long term will be regretted, in particular the bus station and Lancastria House.  Services are here today and gone tomorrow but buildings create a visible long term character.

Two buildings were erected that always seemed badly positioned: these are the Market Hall and the Guild Hall.  That the bus station is on an island has never been popular, although it potentially has a modern airport feel inside.  These are interesting times.

Read the full Council report on the Preston Council website: downloads a pdf. There is a lot of information here.