'Chink of light’ in bid for improved bus station in Northumberland town

An award of more than £160m to improve bus services in the region is set to be welcomed by Northumberland County Council.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The Department for Transport (DfT) recently announced a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) for the region with an indicative £163.5m of Government funding to the North East Joint Transport Committee (JTC).

Now detailed proposals of what the funding will be spent on are being developed by Transport North East, which will be submitted to the DfT by the end of June.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They will review the plan and either provide feedback or confirm final funding allocation.

Alnwick bus station.Alnwick bus station.
Alnwick bus station.

Among the initial proposals originally bid for were a redeveloped bus station for Alnwick, reduced fares for under-19's, more services in rural areas and tourist hotspots, extra park and ride services and a single ticket which would allow unlimited travel across all services in the region.

Given the tight timeline to submit a plan to Government, the council’s cabinet is being recommended to authorise the leader to negotiate and agree the draft plan on behalf of the council.

Cllr Wojciech Ploszaj, cabinet member for business, said: “We know how important bus services are for many people in Northumberland, particularly for those who don’t have access to their own vehicles. They’re also a very environmentally friendly way to travel.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“This funding will make a serious difference not just to our physical bus services but also the way many of us think about and value these services.

“Along with our colleagues in other local authorities and transport operators we need to move at speed to submit priorities back to Government by the end of June.

“There are a number of potential fantastic opportunities for public transport users in Northumberland and we look forward to Government’s response later this year.”

Cllr Gordon Castle, Alnwick ward member, added: “At last a chink of light has appeared in this funding package and residents can be sure I will be doing all I can to extract from it a means of providing Alnwick with a bus station more in keeping with expectations than the present one.

"We already have plans drawn up and agreed by the town council for a new bus station that are just waiting for that vital ingredient - money!”