Bus stations due for £28m revamps to coax drivers out of their cars

BUS STATIONS in Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Heckmondwike are all set for major multi-million pound revamps over the next three years as transport bosses look to coax people out of cars and on to buses.

The projects will cost more than £28m, with some work scheduled to start as soon as October this year.

Council chiefs in Kirklees say revamping and reviving the district’s bus stations will assist “modal shift” – switching from cars to buses – and thereby providing an “accessible, attractive and cleaner alternative” to car journeys.

That has been received cautiously by those scrutinising the plans and there have been questions asked about the level of public engagement to inform the end result.

The current “bus hub” in Heckmondwike is to undergo a £4.97m transformation into a bus station with four existing bus shelters becoming four bus stands, plus a layover bay, offices, a “pod” containing waiting areas and toilets, and an outside canopy with seating. Enabling work is set to begin by October with eight months of construction starting in January 2023.

Dewsbury bus station is to be comprehensively upgraded and refurbished at a cost of £14.3m to make it a “modern, fit for purpose facility that is safer and more accessible and will support wider regeneration in the town centre.”.

The building work is expected to start in September 2023 and anticipated to finish in January 2025.

Huddersfield bus station is to get £9.1m of improvements that include a new entrance concourse.

An external canopy is also planned to extend the waiting area for customers.