Bus Station set to close for major redevelopment at midnight 28th Oct 2017
Published: 8 September 2017
Exeter Bus Station will close at the end of October to allow for a major redevelopment of the site.
Exeter City Council has announced that the 50-year-old facility will close after the last bus has left the station on Saturday, October 28.
While the new bus station is being built, temporary measures will be in place to enable services to continue operating smoothly.
From Sunday, October 29, passengers will be picked up and dropped off at dedicated bus stands in the city centre.
A new Exeter Bus Station will open in the winter of 2019, at the same time as Exeter’s new state-of-the-art new leisure centre St Sidwell’s Point. Both developments are being funded by the City Council.
The temporary stands will only be for passengers who currently use Exeter Bus Station. They will have weather protection and information for passengers.
City services will be largely unaffected by the closure of the bus station.
Temporary stands will be used in Sidwell Street, Paris Street and Cheeke Street. Three stands for National Express and Megabus coaches will also be based in Sidwell Street.
A temporary traffic solution will also allow vehicles to access two of the Princesshay car parks via Southernhay East.
Details of which services will use which temporary stands have also been revealed. The stands are numbered to fit in with the city’s current bus network.
The City Council is working with the bus operators, passengers groups and businesses to ensure everyone is aware of the changes.
Information will be displayed at the Stagecoach Travel Shop at the bus station. This facility will also remain open to the public after the main station closes.
Councillor Phil Bialyk, lead councillor with responsibility for the redevelopment, said: “We did a lot of public consultation when we announced plans to redevelop the site and people told us that they wanted to be dropped off and picked up in the city centre while Exeter Bus Station is closed.
“The temporary on street stands will bring people right into the middle of Exeter, in and around Paris Street and Sidwell Street.
“We are going for the most trouble-free travel option we can. The message is Exeter is very much open for business as usual and everyone who currently uses the bus station will continue to be dropped off and picked in the city centre.
“This redevelopment is long overdue. Exeter needs a modern bus station with the quality facilities that passengers deserve.
“The city also deserves a brand new leisure centre, which really will be one of the jewels in the crown of the city centre.
“A lot of work has gone into getting this far and the closure of the bus station is a landmark moment which marks the start of this crucial redevelopment to modernise the city centre.”
Bob Dennison, managing director of Stagecoach South West, said: “We have been working in close partnership with Exeter City Council to ensure that, once the bus station closes, customers still have easy access to the city centre.
“These temporary stop arrangements more than meet these requirements and mean we can continue to operate our services into Exeter reliably whilst the new bus station takes shape.”
Passengers can access toilet facilities at Shopmobility in Paris Street and the St Sidwell’s Centre in Sidwell Street.
Information will be displayed on each of the temporary stands explaining which services will use them.
A series of engagement days will be held at Exeter Bus Station over the coming weeks.
Passengers can also sign up to a weekly email update which will highlight the latest developments in the countdown to the bus station closing.