Corporation Street bus gate won’t now start on Tuesday

The new bus gate in Corporation Street in Preston city centre Pic: Blog Preston

Preston’s newest bus lane is to start operating soon – but it won’t be on Tuesday.

Lancashire County Council has said it has no intention to begin fining motorists this week, despite information being shared widely around Preston’s university to say the bus gate was going live on Tuesday (7 May).

Update: The date the bus-gate starts has been confirmed

The Corporation Street bus gate saw cameras and signage put up recently and a stretch from Marsh Lane to Heatley Street is going to be enforced by Lancashire County Council as a bus-only space.

Information about the bus gate – shared with University of Central Lancashire’s staff and students on Friday 3 May but not with the general motoring public, and passed to Blog Preston – said the bus gate was due to start operating on Tuesday 7 May with motorists being fined. But a spokesperson for LCC said this was not their intention.

Speaking to Blog Preston, the county council’s spokesperson said: “The new bus gate on Corporation Street is not being introduced next week and we will let people know when it will be in plenty of time.

“To be clear, the cameras are not being switched on from Tuesday, so no fines will be issued next week.

“We will let people know in advance when enforcement will start.”

The bus gate is due to operate 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a-week.

The covers are due to come off the bus gate camera signs in the coming weeks Pic: Blog Preston

Any cars – other than buses, taxis or cyclists – using the stretch of road now known as a bus gate from Tuesday face a £70 penalty charge notice.

If payment is made within 21-days of the notice being issued the charge is reduced to £35.

If payment is made after a service of charge certificate, the charge increases to £105.

Appeals after receiving a penalty notice can be made via the Lancashire County Council website.

In February Blog Preston updated on the bus gate signage starting to appear and in April the bus gate cameras went up – with the county council not confirming when they would start issuing fines.

Where the bus gate starts in Corporation Street from Heatley Street leading up to Marsh Lane Pic: Blog Preston

When asked in February when the bus gate would be operational, the county council only committed to ‘later this year’ and said they would ‘let people know in plenty of time’.

A consultation on the bus gate being introduced originally ran back in 2021 – with a number of local businesses raising concerns about the proposals.

Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.

Clarification: This article originally stated motorists using the bus gate would be issued with fines on Tuesday 7 May. No date has yet been set for the bus gate to be operational.