An appeal for Lancashire County Council’s decision to take over Preston’s grade-II listed Bus Station has failed.
AdvertisementLeader of the Conservative group, Geoff Driver, led a group of six councillors wanting the move for County Hall to run the building to be called in.
This would have led to a review of the agreement between Preston City Council and the county.
Mr Driver said: “Mr Driver said: “The county council is proposing to purchase the bus station but they have no idea how much it will cost to repair and refurbish it and no idea how they will fund the cost.
“I’m not saying it should be flattened, but a proper business plan should be done [to] see what the options are and what can be afforded.”
The city council had planned to demolish the building, before performing a u-turn following the listing of the building by the Culture Minister in September.
John Fillis, cabinet member for transport at Lancashire County Council, has said there is £8.3 million available to refurbish the building and this amount could swell if extra grants or funding can be found.
Recent estimates for the city council outlined how the building could cost as much as £23m to bring up to modern day standards – but this will need to be completed within the framework of working within a listed building.
We expect to hear from County Hall chiefs in the early part of 2014 of their plan for the building.
What do you think the priority for refurbishing the Bus Station should be? What should the county do? Let us know in the comments below