Bus station demolition could begin next year to pave way for Grosvenor Centre expansion
WORK to demolish the Greyfriars Bus Station in Northampton could begin as soon as the end of next year, it has been revealed.
The future of the 36-year-old building in Northampton town centre has been in doubt ever since Legal & General revealed plans to extend the neighbouring Grosvenor Centre building in 2000.
In a report which will be seen by board members the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) next week, it has now been revealed that work to knock down the massive bus station could start at the end of 2013.
The organisation’s director of regeneration and development, Chris Garden, said the green light for the demolition to begin would come when work to build a new, smaller, bus station on the site of the Fishmarket is completed.
He said: “The new facility is intended to be completed by August 2013, with vacant possession of the existing bus station anticipated to be secured by the end of that year.
“This will be the earliest the bus station could be demolished.”
Plans for the new bus station are due to go on public display at the Greyfriars bus station on Thursday next week from 10am until 7pm. They will then be on show again from 10am until 3pm on Saturday January 21.
Initial plans for the new station were first revealed in November last year.
They showed the building would contain a number of open-air bus bays and an undercover waiting area for passengers. A number of new bus stops would also be created along The Drapery.
It is expected that a planning application for the new bus station will be submitted next month and the development would take about six months to complete following the demolition of the Fishmarket building.
Once the Greyfriars bus station has been demolished and the new station has been built on the site of the Fishmarket, the way would be open for work to start on the expansion of the Grosvenor Centre.
Mr Garden said: “A planning application for the Grosvenor development is still programmed for late summer this year.
“The earliest realistic timescale for a start on site for the Grosvenor Centre would be mid 2014.”
Plans for both the bus station and the Grosvenor Centre expansion will be discussed by members of the WNDC’s board during a meeting next week.
Email to a friend
Print this page- BREAKING NEWS: Tributes paid to Niamh Curry as brave five-year-old loses battle against cancer
- BREAKING NEWS: Pensioner dies after collision at Northampton shopping centre
- Man tied to tree and beaten on Northampton Racecourse
- BREAKING NEWS: Woman’s body found after ‘suicide’ in Northampton hotel room
- BREAKING NEWS: Seven-year-old boy dies following house fire in Northamptonshire
- Northampton binmen at ‘breaking point’
- Staff strike at Northampton school over academy plans forces closure
- Saints’ stadium plans get support as long as traffic issues solved
- Eastern European pupils helping school standards across Northampton
- Exclusive: PM David Cameron says Northamptonshire Police Commissioner role is “a big job for a big local figure”
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Northampton
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 16 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
Duncan Roomyhatchback Duncan
Monday, January 16, 2012 at 04:10 PMI love the bus station, from outside it is a very impressive modern building. You will all be wishing for it back when it's gone and you are standing out in freezing or wet weather waiting for a bus which will inevitably be late! Oh, and the extended Grosvenor centre won't happen in ours or our childrens lifetime!
PATTCOBB2
Monday, January 16, 2012 at 01:22 PMOnce again I suggest to you that the expansion of the Grosvenor centre will not happen. Why? Well who will anchor it? We have Debenhams already, the Centre has House Of Fraser and John Lewis are not interested. We will be going back to the 1970s when former bombsites were flattened and used for carparks. For bombsites read ex bus stations! Currently i change from X7 to service 8 a change which is made in 30 seconds in the dry. Though I can see regional services calling at Fishmarket Bus Station I just cannot see room for town and local services. 28 bays into just 8 will not work you do the maths! It was once suggested vthat the way to improve public transport beyong recognition would be to force all councillors not to use their cars to get to work.
HOS
Monday, January 16, 2012 at 11:54 AMIf WNDC had any kind of commercial marketing skills? They would get the national media involved with the demolition of this monster that featured in a C4? program about the UKs ugliest buidlings. It was a competition to have the UKs ugliest building demolished, but the bus station I believe was beaten to the first place. Its called "good publicity for the town". WNDC might take my idea onboard in this respect ? You know, marketing ?
Chaocontrol6
Monday, January 16, 2012 at 10:17 AMAlthough I do not see anything wrong with the actual function of the current Greyfriars bus station (ie I think a refurb would do the trick nice and cheaply) I am certainly open for change, seeing a whole host of new shops easily available and see hopefully an even better Bus Station functioning. I'll certainly be seeing them plans for the bus station on Saturday. Though being on them busses for 10 years, I shall still miss that Greyfriars, no matter how dirty it is.
pitsford
Monday, January 16, 2012 at 06:20 AMI think that the media should ensure that the long-wished-for demolition is a spectacular celebration. Could we perhaps have dancing-on-the-ruins? I have used some good and some awful bus and train stations in several countries, but "my home town" really has been at the bottom. Even the old Derngate where we choked on diesel fumes in the 1950's was actually better than the Mounts, oops I mean Greyfriars. "Greyfriars" was always too nice a name for that dump! The weirdest thing is that the old Derngate was just a simple corrugated iron garage, whereas real live professional ARCHITECTS gave us Greyfriars. Maybe the new station should just be another big tin shed --- you can't really go wrong with that.
EileenM
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 11:15 PMI cannot understand why people are so pessimistic about this. The bus station is the worse introduction to the town EVER. It is dirty, smelly and run down. Pulling it down will provide a great opportunity to create bigger shop units. Moving the bus stops to the fish market and the drapery is common sense, the fish market is hardly a national treasure and regeneration of that part of town would be very positive. Why do so many people in Northampton think that change is something that should happen somewhere or Anywhere else?
weary
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 10:25 PMWhat’s with the endless pessimism about developments in this town? It seems to be ingrained. You get nowhere without ideas. Judge these projects when they’re complete, not before they even get off the ground.
NN3man
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 10:11 PMJust knock it down preferably with the down and outs in it.
Chrispy1
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 09:18 PMIt COULD be knocked down by the end of 2013? That's almost 2 years away!!!! Given the track record of NBC & WNDC (they've admitted the Railway Station is going the same way as all the other Pretty Pictures issued in the last 15 years (i.e. it ain't gonna happen) forgive me if I ignore this latest bunch of waffle. Legal & General are making a nice profit out of the current tiny Grosvenor Center. It might be useless to the town, but it suits them very nicely, so they'll do nothing unless NBC grow a pair and issue them with Compulsory Purchase order (CPO).
willi eckaslyke
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 10:23 AMforgetnot...They do say great minds think alike (and at the same time!)
willi eckaslyke
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 10:19 AMThe demolition could be promoted as a historic event, likened to knocking down the Berlin Wall...The demise of the bus station will bring East & West Northampton together again...Chunks of it could be sold off by our Council spivs - souvenirs of a grim era.
forgetnot
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 09:37 AMJust like the Berlin Wall, we could sell the bricks and so on, though a certificate of authentication would be needed, so the hordes of visitors and tourists wont get ripped off!
HOS
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 09:36 AMIts one hell of a robsut building ! Built to last ! I still believe they could just remove the top floors and leave the bus station intact. Oh gosh no ! Can't consider saving money can they?
mack80
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 09:05 AMI`m waiting to see when and if this devolpment is completed how much over the top it will cost above the costing now being quoted
Goodfella
Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 08:26 AMWhat a total waste of money. Expand the grosvenor? We can't even fill the shops we've got at the moment! Stinks of back handers & brown envelopes if you ask me!
Page 1 of 2
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.