Bus station not up to scratch says Sir Bob

5:00pm Wednesday 4th July 2012 in News By Wendy Brading

COLCHESTER’S Lib Dem MP has attacked blueprints for the town’s new bus station – drawn up by the Lib Dem-led council.

Sir Bob Russell described the bus station plans for Osborne Street as inadequate.

He said it would not go close to replacing the temporary bus station in East Hill/Queen Street, which will close at the end of the year.

Sir Bob said: “I am glad something is going in at Osborne Street, but this is not a replacement for the bus station.

“It is not a bus station – it is no more than bus stops on the highway.

“It is completely inadequate, trying to get a quart into a pint pot and it is emphatically not a bus station.”

“We have had potentially one of the best bus stations in the country and it has been moved off to make way for the visual arts facility.

“I spoke to the drivers when there was the practice run up at the Weston Homes stadium and they said the proposal was OK in principle but would not work in practice.

“I still don’t know where the tourist coaches will stop?”

The bus station off East Hill will close at the end of the year to allow landscaping to be completed at Colchester’s Firstsite gallery.

Sir Bob has been an enduring critic of the gallery.

Colchester Council, which is run by a coalition of Lib Dems, Labour and Independent councillors, has sourced £2 million of funding to create the new bus station.

It will be used to create bus stops and laybys in Osborne Street and Stanwell Street, refurbished toilets in Osborne Street, a waiting room for 21 people and a canopy to shelter people waiting outside.

It will also feature information boards and a drinks machine.

Work is due to start on July 30 and should end by November 19.

Lyn Barton, Colchester’s councillor with responsibility for regeneration, said the scheme was designed to reflect bus users’ priorities.

l On a poll on the Gazette’s website, 63 per cent of people gave the bus station plans the thumbs down and 37 per cent supported them.

Comments(16)

PROOFREADER says...
6:20pm Wed 4 Jul 12

The Bus Station is off of Queen Street only not East Hill/Queen Street. It has been this way since the VAF was built.

Report this post »

suvvers2003 says...
7:21pm Wed 4 Jul 12

Another waste of money by Colchester. Yes we NEED a new bus station...Osborne Street is not the answer. The answer was not to destroy the good one we had to make way for the VAF, but they did it anyway. The next answer would have been to build a new bus station at St Botolphs on the car park by the Town Station but they built a new Magistrates Court on it. The best answer now? Demolish the currently derelict Keddies and build it there. It could go as far back as the current waiting room/toilet block in the "temporary" bus station and would provide ample space for ALL services to get off road...this will prevent the congestion caused at the High Street/Queen Street junction when TGM time 3 bus services to arrive at the same time in a lay by that fits one bus. Come on Colchester don't you think you've wasted enough of your tax payers money on white elephants (the VAF) and other hair brained schemes?

Report this post »

wellnow says...
8:30pm Wed 4 Jul 12

here we go again.

Report this post »

crazy comments says...
8:42pm Wed 4 Jul 12

I see by the East Anglian Ipswich Councill is spending 22 million on a new bus station. What a dump Colchester is and how thankfull I was in moving down South.

Report this post »

greenbroker says...
9:47pm Wed 4 Jul 12

How can the Queen St. bus station be 'good' when the buses enter/exit via the same road? Buses should be able to drive in/out in the same direction in order to avoid turning/reversing.

Report this post »

whittle1 says...
10:28pm Wed 4 Jul 12

crazy comments wrote:
I see by the East Anglian Ipswich Councill is spending 22 million on a new bus station. What a dump Colchester is and how thankfull I was in moving down South.
Good to see CBC spending sensibly and not the £22m quoted above. Bob Russell tends to talk nonsense and I for one think Colchester is an excellent town with good shops, good facilities and great people. If you don't like it then go somewhere else and moan on a local newspaper's website there. We won't miss you

Report this post »

Reginald47 says...
11:31pm Wed 4 Jul 12

Bob Russell is my MP not my councillor - he should stick to that.

Report this post »

greenbroker says...
12:15am Thu 5 Jul 12

whittle1 wrote:
crazy comments wrote:
I see by the East Anglian Ipswich Councill is spending 22 million on a new bus station. What a dump Colchester is and how thankfull I was in moving down South.
Good to see CBC spending sensibly and not the £22m quoted above. Bob Russell tends to talk nonsense and I for one think Colchester is an excellent town with good shops, good facilities and great people. If you don't like it then go somewhere else and moan on a local newspaper's website there. We won't miss you
whittle1 is absolutely right. I've lived here for about 50 years and it's had it's ups and downs...... As for crazy, I think he/she is crazy. The grass is always greener..........so they say.

Report this post »

jammin says...
12:15pm Thu 5 Jul 12

crazy comments wrote:
I see by the East Anglian Ipswich Councill is spending 22 million on a new bus station. What a dump Colchester is and how thankfull I was in moving down South.
I take it you don't live in Ipswich then as thats North.

Report this post »

wellnow says...
7:53pm Thu 5 Jul 12

you don't want to worry about a bus station not fit for practice your part of a government that is becoming u turn policy devoid of rationale.bob.

Report this post »

StopLookListen says...
4:22pm Fri 6 Jul 12

It's "just another bandwagon" for Bob R to jump on, he'll soon forget it all. Anyway, what can he do?
.
Maybe someone with commonsense should have worked out a good site for the Bus Station long ago, when the old St John's St one was coming to the end of its life, although if some road widening had been implemented that was a great site! Didn't need a cafe, the old Milk Bar was opposite. It wasn't too far from three of the Town's cinemas either. If it were still in use it would be very near to the access for the new Town Centre.

Report this post »

PROOFREADER says...
12:45am Sat 7 Jul 12

StopLookListen wrote:
It's "just another bandwagon" for Bob R to jump on, he'll soon forget it all. Anyway, what can he do?
.
Maybe someone with commonsense should have worked out a good site for the Bus Station long ago, when the old St John's St one was coming to the end of its life, although if some road widening had been implemented that was a great site! Didn't need a cafe, the old Milk Bar was opposite. It wasn't too far from three of the Town's cinemas either. If it were still in use it would be very near to the access for the new Town Centre.
I have lived in Colchester since July 1965 and the bus station has always been where it is now, of course it was larger and had the entrance on East Hill. When was it in St Johns Street?

Report this post »

newtactic says...
7:17pm Sat 7 Jul 12

Colchester has had many new developments in the past 20 years and developers have allocated money for public facilities. Proper public transport facilities should be a priority. At the moment passengers queue in overcrowded stops in the High Street, Head Street and St John's Street, often spilling into the roads. The best place to wait for or change buses is the present "temporary" bus station. Sir Bob is right, the facility to be provided in Osborne Street is not big enough or adequate. It could work in tandem with an upgraded Queen Street site though. Good facilities and upgrading run down sites should be of paramount importance to both Essex County Council and Colchester Borough Council. Visitors from London and Stansted often arrive by bus, train or coach. A perception of run down areas and lack of facilities reflects very badly on those in charge and it should be a priority for both authorities to provide adequate public transport facilities for their council tax payers and their visitors. We should demand and expect no less from them.

Report this post »

Boris says...
1:08am Mon 9 Jul 12

PROOFREADER wrote:
StopLookListen wrote:
It's "just another bandwagon" for Bob R to jump on, he'll soon forget it all. Anyway, what can he do?
.
Maybe someone with commonsense should have worked out a good site for the Bus Station long ago, when the old St John's St one was coming to the end of its life, although if some road widening had been implemented that was a great site! Didn't need a cafe, the old Milk Bar was opposite. It wasn't too far from three of the Town's cinemas either. If it were still in use it would be very near to the access for the new Town Centre.
I have lived in Colchester since July 1965 and the bus station has always been where it is now, of course it was larger and had the entrance on East Hill. When was it in St Johns Street?
The bus station was in St John's Street until 1959/1960 when it moved temporarily to Vineyard Street. The bus station in Queen St opened on 26.02.1961. This was commemorated on its 50th birthday. See
http://www.gazette-n
ews.co.uk/news/local
/colchester/8880339.
Happy_50th_birthday_
bus_station___but_wi
ll_it_be_last_/

Report this post »

wardyt says...
12:57pm Mon 9 Jul 12

Sir Bob isn't up to scratch either.

Report this post »

The REAL Norm says...
2:09pm Wed 11 Jul 12

The new bus station is a joke. The sooner the council stand up and admit Firsts*ite has been a £28m balls-up from start to finish, the better. I really hope there is an independent enquiry soon that exposes the incompetence of the local authorities that have presided over the destruction of this town's heritage and reputation in recent years.

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree