Five potential new looks for Preston Bus Station and the surrounding area have been put on display.
AdvertisementThe grade II listed building is due to become home to the Preston Youth Zone and operate as a smaller bus station from the Eastern side.
Artist impressions from the five shortlisted schemes show how the Youth Zone building and area on the Western apron of the building could look.
Entries to redesign the Bus Station area were received from 93 architects and five have been successful in getting through to the final stage.
Each of the designs is being put on display in the Bus Station from 8am on Thursday for 48 hours – giving Prestonians a chance to ask questions and cast their votes.
Voting on a favourite scheme can also be done on the Lancashire County Council website up until 4pm on Tuesday 21 July.
Jennifer Mein, leader of the county council, said: “We strongly feel that it’s important to give people an opportunity to see and vote on these plans.
“This isn’t a full consultation on the details of each proposal, but it’s a chance for people to see the designs and choose which one they like. Their views will help the judges to decide which scheme is selected.
“The Grade II-listed bus station will continue to be a major transport hub, but we also want to develop an exciting new space for young people. I’ve seen the five shortlisted submissions and I certainly feel that we’ve got innovative entries that will result in stunning plans for the site.
“Things are moving along well, a lot of progress has already been made, with plenty more to come. I’m looking forward to finding out the winner in the summer.”
Up to £23 million is being spent on the Bus Station and surrounding area, although no work is due to begin until May next year and will take until 2018 to complete.
The £6 million Youth Zone is being set up in collaboration with OnSide Youth Zones who will be contributing £1m to the costs, with the county council funding the remaining £5m.
Guy Topping, chairman of Preston Youth Zone, said: “We owe it to our city’s young people to make Preston Youth Zone the best it can be and we’re confident the selected designs have the potential to create a vibrant and exciting youth facility.
“However, we need the input of Preston’s local community to ensure the success not only of the Youth Zone, but for the overall transformation of the bus station. We’re passionate about giving the city’s young people somewhere safe and inspiring to go in their leisure time and I urge the public to get behind this development and have their say on the designs.”
Public votes will count for 10 per cent of the decision, with a panel of architects, county council planners, Preston city councillors and heritage experts making the final decision – due to be revealed in late July.
Here’s each of the five designs. We asked the county council for the name of each design, and the architects, but it wasn’t released so we’ve named them ourselves.
Design 1 – The Half-pipe one
Design 2 – The how can we use a + symbol to look hip one
Design 3 – The mistaken for a university campus one
Design 4 – The House of Cards one
Design 5 – The blimey they’ve attached something to the Bus Station one
You can cast your vote on the county council website.
What do you think of the designs? Which is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below