27th January - Major projects coming to Bedford
Two multi-million pound projects, bringing investment, jobs and
new opportunities to Bedford town centre will begin to take shape
on Monday 27th January.
The demolition of the Town Hall and the new Bedford Bus
Station are the largest projects in Bedford town centre for decades
and work at both sites will start on the same day.
The redevelopment of the Bedford bus station area started in
2013. Work to date has included the construction of a new surface
car park at Greyfriars, new public toilets and the continuing
refurbishment of Allhallows multi-storey car park.
The next stage is the demolition and replacement of the bus
station building. Work will start here on the 27th January and be
completed by the end of the year.Demolishing the Town Hall will
kick start a process that will bring major benefits to the town
centre including the reintroduction of the town centre cinema, new
opportunities for riverside dining or relaxing, new jobs and a
major boost for visitor numbers.
The wider plans also include a new footbridge and an attractive
new public space to feature as part of the new Riverside North
development scheme. The demolition of the Town Hall also
contributes towards savings of over £1 million every year.
Work to demolish the Town Hall and neighbouring Riverside House
office blocks will start on the 27th January. The Old Town Hall
building will remain unaffected.
Mayor of Bedford Borough, Dave Hodgson, said: “These major
developments signal exciting times ahead for Bedford Town
Centre. We are replacing the unloved old bus station with a
brand new one as part of a wider regeneration project, while a
large office block is making way for new riverside public space as
part of a scheme including riverside restaurants, a cinema, river
footbridge and more.
“Bedford bus station has let our town centre down for far too
long and we are pleased to be making this regeneration project
happen. The construction of the new bus station itself is the
central feature of this scheme which will create a gateway to the
town centre we can be proud of.
“The completed scheme will include the brand new bus station
building, new shopfronts, refurbished multi storey car park as well
as the already completed surface car park at Greyfriars and new
public toilets.
“The demolition of the Town Hall will open up the area for new
links between the town centre and the river and new public space,
riverside restaurants, the reintroduction of town centre cinema and
much more. It will also bring new jobs and a huge increase in
visitors to the town centre.
“Despite the challenging economic climate, Bedford Borough is
bucking the trend and delivering major new investment and jobs and
sending out the message that Bedford is open for business.”
In order to ensure the safety of the public and contractors, the
bus station building and the bus bays immediately outside will be
closed to the public while the work is carried out.
Maps explaining interim changes to bus stops, disabled parking
and taxi ranks is now available on the Council website.
Information will also be available on site and in nearby bus
shelters very shortly.
A ‘Bus Station Roadshow’ will take place in Church Square on
Wednesday 15th and 22nd January to explain the interim arrangements
to users. Wednesday has been chosen as it is the bus station’s
busiest day of the week.
The Council has worked closely with bus operators and user
groups to coordinate the arrangements and the majority of bus
services will continue to pick up and drop off within the bus
station forecourt. Services have also been grouped together by
destination.
The interim changes have maintained the number of disabled
parking bays in the town centre as well as maintaining taxi ranks
in prominent locations.
