Chichester councillors have brought long-awaited plans to build a new bus depot in the city one step closer.
During a meeting of the district council on Tuesday (October 1) they agreed that the current depot and bus station, on Basin Road, should be brought forward for regeneration as part of the Southern Gateway scheme.
The plan is to build a new depot on the old Parkers site, in Terminus Road, which the council now owns.
If all goes as planned, bus stops and shelters with real-time passenger information will be built at 11 sites around the railway station, Avenue de Chartres and Southgate.
And the link between the railway station and Avenue de Chartres will be improved to include new walking and cycle paths.
Talks will follow with Stagecoach as well as West Sussex County Council, whose Bus Service Improvement Plan envisions a ‘superhub’ in the city.
As for the Basin Road sites, council leader Adrian Moss said: “Our aim is to make this a vibrant part of the city with the aim of providing mixed use development of housing including affordable homes and business units to drive growth into our economy and bring more people into the city centre.
“Housing and the economy are crucial for our local economy and our residents.
“The Basin Road car park is an ideal location for development and the redevelopment of the bus station and bus depot provide a major opportunity
for improvements to bus services for our residents.”
One thing that won’t please some people is the lack of a new bus station.
Neither Stagecoach nor the county council, as highways authority, is interested in the idea and the district council has neither the power, the money nor the authority to include it in the plans.
A suggestion from Timothy Johnson (Green & Local Alliance, Selsey South) that the old bus station be kept due to its ‘unique architecture’ was noted.
Officers assured him that keeping the building was one of the options open to them – demolition being another.
A new depot will allow Stagecoach to bring in a lot of improvements.
The company will be able to electrify its fleet of buses – improving air quality and working towards zero emissions by 2035 – and improve accessibility for disabled customers.
The change should also help to ease traffic congestion around the gyratory.
Work will now start on determining the best use of the Basin Road sites. This could include moving the council’s headquarters into the area.
Its current home at East Pallant House is bigger than needed so it and the car park could end up being sold.
