Taunton bus station update

Taunton bus station could temporarily re-open in the near-future after a new short-team lease was agreed.

First Group closed the bus station on Tower Street on March 27, 2020, claiming the cost of repairing and maintaining the site was too great.

Somerset West and Taunton Council subsequently purchased the bus station site for £1M, with a view towards turning it into a car park.

However, the council has agreed a new short-term lease with the bus operator, allowing them to use the bus station again until detailed proposals have been agreed and planning permission has been secured.

Councillor Marcus Kravis, portfolio holder for asset management and economic development, confirmed the council’s intentions in a report which came before the full council on Tuesday evening (October 5).

He said in his written report: “Design progress prior to seeking planning permission to convert the bus station to a car park has been delayed slightly to allow for further consideration of the infrastructure requirements of equipment and car park layout, including the potential for electric vehicle charging points.

“Detailed surveys of the bus station buildings are under way and preliminary discussions have been had with potential end users.

“We have negotiated the short-term lease renewal to First SW Ltd. while redevelopment proposals are formalised.”

The bus station site was one of several sites allocated for future housing development in the council’s Taunton 2040 Vision, with officers estimating that up to 28 homes could be constructed there.

Somerset County Council recently consulted on the prospect of reopening the bus station as part of its bus service improvement plan (BSIP), which will be discussed in detail by county councillors on Tuesday morning (October 12).

District councillor Mike Rigby, portfolio holder for planning policy and transport, said the county council had carried out this consultation “without bothering to have a chat with the people who own it – i.e. us.”

He added: “There is some chatter about the bus station re-appearing there – but it’s at a very early stage.”

Alex Carter, managing director of First Group South West, told councillors in May 2020 that efforts to lease back the station on a short-term basis had not borne any fruit.

He stated: “There had been an expectation that we would be able to perhaps use the bus station on some sort of lease-back basis temporarily, but that didn’t form part of the final agreement.”

Councillor Libby Lisgo, who chairs the council’s community scrutiny committee, bemoaned the lack of progress surrounding the site since Mr Carter’s comments.

She said: “We charged councillors Kravis and Rigby with pursuing a conversation with First Bus about their future bus station needs.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything coming back from that – did it happen, or not?”

Mr Rigby responded: “We’ve had various conversations with First Bus over that time period.

“It’s obvious that from the beginning of that process that they were not keen on running a bus station of any description – they had a perfectly good one, but they didn’t think it was necessary to run that any more.

“What seems to have resurrected the conversation is the ‘bus back better’ programme from the government. That’s been a post-covid issue and it’s very much at the early stages.

“We like to think there have been conversations between First Bus and the county council, and presumably at some point they might include us in that as owners of the bus station.”

Mr Rigby – who is also the county councillor for the Lydeard division – said the government’s push for better bus services may lead to some form of bus interchange being put in place at the recently-refurbished Taunton railway station.

“There’s certainly a desire on the part of this council to have a bigger bus interchange at the railway station than we’ve currently got.

“As with all of these things, we’re in the hands of the bus operator – who until very recently said they don’t want to run any form of interchange in Taunton.

“Now that conversation is happening again, there’s an opportunity for us to talk to First Bus about this.”

Councillor Dawn Johnson said it was essential that any bus interchange in the town centre contained adequate sheltered space.

She said: “I understand the interconnectivity at the train station, absolutely – it’s not good for people arriving off trains not to be able to have easy access on to their next destination

“However, as someone who has had to stand at Castle Green with many elderly people, getting absolutely drenched because there is totally insufficient coverage and protection, there needs to be something which is better in the town centre so people wanting to use the buses don’t have to stand in the pouring rain.”

The BSIP will be discussed by the county council’s policies and place scrutiny committee in Taunton on Tuesday (October 12) from 10am.