Work on a £6.4m bus station which will transform public transport in Accrington has begun today.
County Councillor John Fillis, Lancashire County Council cabinet member for highways and transport and Councillor Miles Parkinson, leader of Hyndburn Council officially launched the project at a ground breaking ceremony.
The modern bus station, which will be located on the site of Crawshaw Street car park, will make it much quicker, easier and safer for people to travel around the county.
Facilities at the station will include 11 stands giving people easy access to buses, disabled toilets and Changing Places toilet facility. There will be easy access to the nearby train station and the shops on Union Road.
There will also be electronic displays giving information about bus and train arrivals and free Wi-Fi access.
County Councillor Fillis said: “This new, modern, bus station will have the latest facilities to ensure people can get across Accrington and east Lancashire quickly and safely.
“It will be a much-needed improvement on the current bus station at Peel Street with easy access for people with disabilities, electronic signs giving up-to-the minute information on bus services, and free public Wi-Fi access.
“The new train station is only a short walk away making it much quicker for people to change as they travel across the area.
“Accrington Bus Station is a key part of Pennine Reach, a £40m scheme to improve public transport between Accrington, Blackburn and Darwen.
“Cutting journey times, reducing traffic congestion and improving transport facilities at key locations are some of the ways the project will improve public transport.
“The building of Accrington Bus Station is an important milestone in the Pennine Reach project.”
Councillor Miles Parkinson said “I am extremely pleased that we are finally delivering a modern new bus station for Accrington with all the additional benefits and highway infra-structure improvements that the Pennine Reach Scheme is bringing across Hyndburn.
“I appreciate the years of hard work by all involved in achieving this scheme, especially the funding from Lancashire County Council and the Government to deliver this project, from the consultation back in 2008 to the present day.
“This is one of the major investments being made in Accrington Town Centre with other schemes to be programmed shortly to compliment this investment to improve facilities in Accrington town centre.”
The building work on the bus station is expected to last for around 15 months.
More information about Accrington Bus Station, can be found here.
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