Accrington’s new £6.4 million ‘George Slynn’ bus station has been officially opened. Councillors
past and present joined with dignitaries and relatives of George Slynn
to commemorate the opening of the long awaited transport terminal on
Crawshaw Street.
Hyndburn Council leader Miles Parkinson said he was delighted that the town can now boast a ‘fit for purpose’ station.
He
said: “We had some senior councillors from a number of years who are no
longer on the council and can remember the long wish to have a proper
bus station within the town. We would’ve liked to have had lovely summer
weather but it was a day of heavy rain.
“However it makes the
point that people previously had to queue in the wet and windy weather
under a shelter which didn’t give them much protection. Now we have a modern purpose-built bus station in the heart of the town to bring people in.”
The
station, which began operating yesterday, is open seven days a week and
the facilities include free wi-fi, information desks, public toilets,
bus and train timetable displays, interactive journey planners and
support for the deaf or visually impaired.
Coun Parkinson said
the station is the first piece of a ‘multi-million pound’ jigsaw of
investment for the town centre over the next two years.
He said:
“Shortly the new police station will be opening on Broadway, we will
then be moving forward with public realm works along Blackburn Road and
Peel Street an engaging with businesses and stakeholders in the area to
come up with the final plans for the dedication of a square to the
Accrington Pals.
“This is one part of a multi-million investment in the town and we will continue investing in the next 28 months.
“Of
course we can’t provide everything and it’s up to residents where they
chose to shop and chose to go and spend their money but we are doing our
utmost to work with all the key stakeholders.”
The bus station was named in memory of former Great Harwood councillor and transport campaigner George Slynn.
Coun Parkinson said: “George’s brother Jimmy and his wife Denise were there which was very poignant.
"Being
a non-motor vehicle driver George travelled extensively by public
transport and it’s only fitting that the bus station which he long
wanted for the town is named after him.”
The new bus station is
part of the £40 million Pennine Reach public transport scheme which aims
to improve transport links between Accrington and Blackburn.
County
Councillor John Fillis said: "Accrington's new bus station will make a
real difference to the town, offering passengers a comfortable place to
wait for their bus and, with the train station being much closer, making
it much quicker for people to switch modes as they travel across the
area.
"The new bus stations in Accrington and
Blackburn, combined with the numerous improvements to bus shelters and
traffic signal junctions along the Pennine Reach corridor represent a
vastly enhanced public transport network for the wider Hyndburn and
Blackburn with Darwen areas.
"The introduction of new bus lanes,
bus priority measures, and all the fantastic technology that can be seen
inside both Blackburn and Accrington Bus Stations really has brought
the bus network in this area into the 21 Century.
"The overall
aim of Pennine Reach is to help kick start the regeneration of these
East Lancashire towns and already that can be seen in both Accrington
and Blackburn with heritage initiatives aiming to improve large areas of
the town centres.
"This creates the conditions to attract further commercial investment to really transform the area and people's opportunities.
"Whilst
the bus stations are the most visible aspect of the Pennine Reach
project, the wide range of investments which have resulted from the
scheme really do make this a far reaching project which will benefit
East Lancashire for many years to come."
