First application in for Preston bus station overhaul

A planning application has been submitted relating to the first phase of £10m of improvements at Preston Bus Station, to be delivered alongside the construction of a new Youth Zone.

Lancashire County Council has applied for permission to proceed with repairs to the concrete that makes up the grade two-listed Brutalist design.

There will also be improvements to the car parking levels including new lighting, changes to the car parking areas and other related work.

The aim is to create a home for the new Preston Youth Zone, housing a range of activities for young people, which will sit alongside the bus station.

Within the bus station itself, improvements are planned for the concourse. New outdoor public space would be created on the city centre side of the bus station, as well as changes to the road layout and better public access.

The plans for Preston Bus Station and the Onside Youth Zone have changed significantly over the past year. In June 2015 New York-based John Puttick Associates was named as lead architect, and artist’s impressions released at the time showed the youth facility built onto the existing façade of the station and occupying space within.

However, under a reworking of designs releases earlier this year, there will no longer be any space within the bus station occupied by the Youth Zone. Instead, the existing bus and coach facilities will remain, occupying more than half of the ground floor, and will be refurbished. The multi-storey car park in the floors above will be repaired and preserved.

According to the council, the revised plans were in response to feedback from Historic England and the 20^th Century Society, who did not want to see a new building attached to the existing station.

Separate planning applications are expected to be submitted during July and August.