‘Give us a say’ call on bus station
ORMSKIRK residents should be given a full say in how the bus station is redeveloped, says Our West Lancashire’s team for this May’s elections.
Downing Students, a developer based in Liverpool, is working in partnership with West Lancashire Borough Council to bring forward plans for the redevelopment of the bus station and car park site in Moor Street.
The scheme will provide a new bus station, commercial space at ground floor level and 198 student bedrooms near the town centre.
But some local people do not welcome the plans.
Jane Thompson, of OWL from Scott ward, said: “I’ve already been contacted by residents horrified by the scale and design of the proposed buildings, especially the four-storey one – higher than anything else in the town.
“We need a full public consultation as to how the people of Ormskirk would like the bus station redeveloped.”
Gordon Johnson, OWL’s Derby ward spokesman added: “The borough council own this land.
“They should be fully involving the people they serve in deciding how it is redeveloped, not making cosy deals with developers and then presenting it as a done deal to residents.”
Downing has more than 30 years’ experience of developing, building, managing and operating student housing.
According to its Ormskirk website: “Each development is designled to respect the local character and context, whilst ensuring it will contribute positively to the future of the local area.”
West Lancashire Borough Council undertook an open procurement process to identify a development partner and a viable scheme for the site.
In a statement, the council said: “The redevelopment of the bus station site was considered at a full council meeting in July 2018 and it was unanimously agreed by all councillors that the scheme by Downing Developments was the appropriate scheme for the site, subject to it achieving planning permission.
“Authority was given to officers to take all necessary steps to implement this project.”
It added: “The bus station site has been identified for some time through the Ormskirk Town Centre Strategy as an under-utilised and visually unattractive building that sits on a strategically important key gateway site for visitors to Ormskirk town centre.”
The council also stated it is not making a direct contribution to the project, but Lancashire County Council will be making a financial contribution to the new bus station facility subject to all necessary consents and approvals being in place.
OWL has written to the borough council to request a full public consultation before any further formalisation of the proposals.