Preston Bus Station has been designated as a grade II listed building, making it a building of national importance and special interest.
BlogPreston writes:
Bus Station campaigners, who want to stop the building being demolished, have tweeted to say “It’s official. Grade II listed status.” with a picture of a thumbs up super-imposed over the Bus Station building.
Ed Vaizey, the culture minister, was due to make a decision earlier this month but that decision has now been made – in favour of listing.
A letter from Stella Jackson, senior designation co-ordinator for English Heritage, to Bus Station campaigners, states: “As you may know we have been considering adding the above building to the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. Having considered our recommendation, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has decided to add Preston Central Bus Station and Car Park to the List. The building is now listed at Grade II.”
The current plan for the Bus Station by Preston City Council and Lancashire County Council is to demolished the building and replace it with a smaller bus station.
The listed status mean this would not be more difficult for the councils to achieve and they may have to consider other options.
Commenting on this decision councillor Peter Rankin, leader of Preston City Council, said: “Obviously it’s not the outcome we were hoping for. We’ve always said the bus station is too big, provides relatively poor facilities for bus passengers and costs Preston taxpayers over £300,000 a year to maintain.
“We will have to take some time now to consider the listing decision and the options for moving forward. In particular, we need to look at costs and the impact on budgets and how it affects Preston taxpayers. We will work closely with Lancashire County Council as transport authority to consider the next steps.”
Angela Brady from the Royal Institute of British Architects tweeted to say “well done” to those involved in the Save Preston Bus Station campaign.
The listing bid was led by English Heritage who have described the building as an excellent example of brutalist architecture. Two previous attempts to have the building listed failed.
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