Funding for Alnwick bus station now 'more difficult to secure' admits councillor

Cllr Gordon Castle was speaking following news that a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) for the region has won £163.5m of Government backing – well short of the £804m wanted.

Decision-makers will now have to choose which projects go ahead and which are shelved.

Cllr Castle said: “Alnwick Bus Station has long been below the standard the town would wish for and compares unfavourably with others in major tourist destinations.

"We did hope that promised government funding towards public transport would enable us to secure a funded replacement as we have a proper design just ready to put into place.

"But the bus station is owned by a private business on private land leased to the company by Morrisons. Therefore, any proposals would need acceptance by both these firms and the money made available externally.

"This announcement does not remove any hope of funding, but it does mean that it will be more difficult to secure amid competing priorities from bus companies themselves.”

He added: "There remains the possible option of funding from the Borderlands money allocated as a potential £3 million for Alnwick, but the group set up to examine where this money might best be spent, is still in a phase of early consultation about objectives and may not proceed as quickly as many might hope.

"I have certainly not given up on this, even though we have improved the standard of cleanliness in recent months by Northumberland County Council taking on the cleansing task daily.”