New Bradford bus station will take around 5 years to build - report
Councillors are in talks about a replacement for the ageing Bradford Interchange travel hub
A NEW bus station planned for Bradford city centre will take around five years to plan for and build.
Although Bradford Interchange is set to reopen on January 5, the building will be operating beyond its 50-year lifespan.
A recent report to its owners and operators, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, recommended that plans are put in place as soon as possible for a new station for the city to eventually replace the ageing Interchange.
The new station will likely incorporate both bus services and a stop on the planned Bradford to Leeds tram system.
In an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service last week, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and Dave Haskins, Director of Transport Operations at West Yorkshire Combined Authority, said these plans were in a very early stage.
And with the average time for new stations to be built – from planning to operation – being about five years, it is likely Bradford Interchange will still be the city’s main bus station for some time.
Speaking after the Authority approved the Interchange’s January 5 re-opening date, transport bosses spoke about the early plans for the new station.
Bradford Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: “The potential locations are commercially confidential at the moment while different sites are looked at.
“There is a real opportunity with mass transit (trams) coming in to create a new city centre station. With the Interchange coming to the end of its life we can look at how we can make Bradford a better connected city for the next 50 to 100 years. The new infrastructure we are putting in place will be there for decades.”
She said it could also link up with the new rail station planned for the city centre.
Ms Brabin said: “Having seen Halifax’s new bus station, we know what a beautiful station looks like. We need to focus on the future – Bradford deserves a beautiful bus station.
“We are making the Interchange safe, but we’re also thinking what the future looks like.”
She said the mass transit system for West Yorkshire was mentioned in last week’s budget, showing that the new Government was committed to the scheme.
When asked when any new station would be built, Mr Haskins said: “The time it has taken to build other bus stations has been around five years.”
He said while the re-opening of the Interchange will cost around £500,000 – costs are likely to spiral the longer it remains open. He said: “The longer we keep it open the more those costs start increasing. It is like an old car – you could realistically keep extending its life, but how much do you spend?”