Surprises in bus station update

NOT for the last time, I suspect, the latest update to councillors on the plan for a new bus station in the centre of Rawtenstall included a few surprises.

The one which stood out for me was the relatively long list of risks council officers wanted to make Rossendale councillors aware of as a result of pushing ahead with the plans to lead the transformation of Rawtenstall with a new bus station.

The risk that stands out the most is the one which states: The bus station is expected to positively impact on future bus patronage and other operators, however the long term sustainability of bus services within Rossendale needs to be taken account of.

The underlying design of the facility is flexible, so should support changes in future bus patronage.

Picking through the council-speak, I think what is being pointed out here is that Rossendale relies relatively heavily on bus services which are subsidised by Lancashire county council, and many of those nearly fell by the wayside during this year’s round of funding cuts by LCC.

Obviously, a £4m bus station which ends up with fewer buses going into it than the existing one is not going to be good news for anyone – and certainly not good news for anyone who has a desire to see Rawtenstall town centre improve.

So there was – to an extent – good news last week when LCC said it was ‘considering’ extending the funding for many subsidised bus services for another year.

That takes the decision over many bus routes beyond the next county council elections in May, but doesn’t actually change the long-term outlook for the services.

As we know, LCC will be effectively broke by 2020 if the government keeps slashing its budgets.

It won’t be able to afford even the services it is has to by law, let alone have any wriggle room to support bus services it isn’t obliged to support by legislation.

Where does that leave our new bus station then?

Another risk flagged up is that Transdev, which operated the Witch Way service through Rossendale, still hasn’t formally signed up to use the new bus station.

Talks, according to the council report, are positive. But no deal confirmed. So it’s perhaps no surprise that Rossendale council says: “The underlying design of the facility is flexible, so should support changes in future bus patronage.”

So the bus station could, in theory, change in the future.

The question I’d be asking if I was sat on Rossendale council’s cabinet would be: “Are we still sure a bus station is what the town really needs?”

Other concerns include whether the council will be able to find tenants for the retail units being planned for the bus station, and that the cost of building the bus station might exceed the funding available.

In that case, the council would propose using money earmarked for phase two – the bit where they plan to build homes, new shops and leisure facilities in the town centre.

That phase is yet to be consulted on with the public – and if the council fails to deliver that part, it could have to give the grant funding it has received to support the bus station development, back.

The council, perhaps learning from the Empty Homes Fiasco, which left it so exposed financially, is making the point it will have a consultant to protect the interests of the council. That’s good news. But with a project which has so far fallen at least six months behind, and got tripped up over the presence of asbestos in one of the buildings to be demolished, it still feels a lot could go wrong.

Rawtenstall may well need a new bus station – it certainly needs redevelopment in the town centre.

But I suspect I’m not the only local tax payer who is worried that such a huge project is reliant on so many things beyond the control of the council to be a success.

And the future of Rawtenstall town centre depends on it all going right.