Time appears to be running out for Preston’s bus station after a millionaire’s bid to buy it was formally rejected by the council. Simon Rigby hoped to prevent the demolition of the 1960s building by purchasing it for £1 together with a pledge to immediately invest £2 million followed by £500,000 a year over the next decade.
Rigby, who describes the property as ‘iconic’ and a ‘cool place,’ promised to maintain its function as a bus station but planned to maximise its potential by adding shops, business space and artists’ studios. He had already conducted a survey and enlisted a local architect to work on the project.
However these plans now seem dead in the water after the council turned down his offer on the grounds that they contained no firm guarantee on the future use of the building.
“The major risk is that anyone who owns the bus station building could at some point simply decide not to operate a bus station anymore.
“That would leave Preston without a functioning bus station and no money or land to build a new one,” said council leader Peter Rankin.
The council believes that repairing and maintaining the property would cost more than knocking it down and building a new one, partly funded by Lancashire County Council.
The only hope of saving the bus station from demolition now seems to rest with English Heritage who must consider an application from the Twentieth Century Society to grant the building listed status.
Two previous attempts to secure listed status have been rejected but on this occasion the Twentieth Century Society says it has presented new information which has not previously been considered. The consultation closed last week and it is not known when a final decision will be reached.
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