11 September 2014

Coach Station Consultation

West End traders and residents, taxi and private hire companies, transport operators, as well as passengers are all being invited to comment on proposals for a new coach hub for Plymouth.

Plymouth City Council wants to hear what people think about their plans for the hub on the site of the Mayflower West car park in the city’s West End.

Detailed work has been carried out on the proposal which the Council wants to submit for planning permission in October.

The new coach station will have: Up-to-date passenger waiting facilities on Armada Way (Maxwell House). The former Lloyds Bank building will be completely renovated with new front and rear entrances, toilets, ticket sales, comfy seating area, information screens as well as a food/drink/news concession seven coach parking bays (two more than the existing bus station) sheltered outside waiting area taxi rank Passenger drop off/pick up area improved public space with quality paving and planting, improved security with CCTV, lighting and activity Car parking for over 100 cars

The project also outlines changes to the road layouts near the proposed station that would be needed. This includes:

No access for vehicles from Market Way Reversal of one-way system on service road around former Mayflower West Car Park Mayflower Street to become one-way between coach hub entrance and Armada Way Signals installed at coach station and Mayflower Street junction

The project team has written to key stakeholders including the City Centre Company, Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, Destination Plymouth as well as ward councillors, MPs, Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, the emergency services, the Federation of Small Businesses, coach operators, taxi and private hire companies and the Confederation of Passenger Transport

And they plan to hold two events at 171 Armada Way on for anyone to come along and have their say on 16 and 17 September.

Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Transport said: “We know where the new coach station is going to be, but we want to make sure we have got the right features and that the scheme reflects the needs of as many people as possible who will use it.”

Councillor Mark Lowry, Cabinet Member for Assets and Finance said: “This is a big project that could add an extra 200,000 visitors to the West End and shows our commitment to the city centre and its businesses.”

The new coach hub will replace the tired out-dated coach station at Bretonside, which is being redeveloped as part of a major investment package proposed by British Land, the owner of Drake Circus and the UK’s largest listed retail landlord.

The proposal for ‘Drake Circus Leisure’ is for a 12-screen cinema complex, 13 restaurants as well as parking for over 400 cars as well as extensive improvements to public areas with features, seating and planting. The scheme would transform the link from the city centre to the Barbican and the Waterfront, making it more attractive and easier for visitors and shoppers to move from one to the other.

The events take place at 171 Armada Way on Tuesday 16 September from 2pm to 7pm and Wednesday 17 September from 10am to 2pm. The consultation period will run until 22 October. Information and an online feedback questionnaire will be on the Council website www.plymouth.gov.uk/coachhub Plymouth City Council   Google Drive City Council   Google Drive Click here for larger view (pdf)

I must admit I still like this as it has to be a much better option that the awful Bretonside Coach Station. It is a lot smaller but then it is just for coach services. If it is done properly then this could be a useful addition to this fairly grotty end of town. I am sure many will disagree with me on this! Whatever your views please make sure you let the council know:

 

Consultation Document Plymouth City Council Online Consultation

Recommended Reading

8 comments:

  1. No mention then of a replacement for the 'tired and worn out' bus station part of the bus and coach station and all the associated vehicle parking. Add in the inevitable extra congestion in Mayflower Street and it looks to me as though local bus passengers will suffer in this scheme. However it does look to be a vast improvement of facilities for coach passengers.

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  2. Where are they going to park the coaches after dropping off? Is it just for National express etc or also for coaches bringing visitors to the city?

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  3. How are they going to get coaches in and out at the same time? access doesn't look wide enough for 2 way traffic

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  4. ANYTHING is an improvement on Bretonside....!

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  5. A coach hub with less space for coaches than for cars!

    I'm not convinced about the layout of the coach facility. There doesn't seem enough room for coaches reversing out of the end bays, with consequent conflict with other movements. Also the entry/exit doesn't look wide enough for coaches top pass each other. I wonder if a tracked path has been plotted for it, and based on 15m coaches at that.

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  6. This seems to leave open the question of where the bus station is going to go. If the people using the coaches are going to complete their journey by public transport, it would seem to make sense for the bus station to be very close to the coach station.

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  7. I hope that the 15m coaches used by Both NatEx and Megabus will fit - it looks very tight!

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  8. What an ugly location that's going to be. The shops that surround the current car park look awful, especially the rear of the shops. It will be almost as bad as the train station where you step outside the building and are confronted by a large ugly concrete multistorey car park
    It's not wonder visitors think Plymouth is a dump, it is!

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