City council decides in principle to bulldoze 1969 building, saying it is cheaper to replace it than refurbish it
Preston city council has approved the demolition of its bus station, ignoring protests by campaigners who view it as a masterpiece of 20th-century design.
The council decided in principle on Tuesday to bulldoze the building, an example of British brutalist architecture, after concluding that it would be cheaper to replace it than refurbish it.
The Twentieth Century Society, which has campaigned vigorously to save the 1969 finned concreted building it describes as "irreplaceable" – although some consider it to be an eyesore – condemned the decision as "extremely short-sighted".
The council leader, Peter Rankin, said the council would have preferred to keep the building but it would be impractical to do so.
A meeting of the cabinet heard that it would cost between £17m and £23.1m to refurbish the vast nine-storey structure, and the costs of replacing it would be between £10.8m and £15.3m, although no detailed plans for the new bus station have been drawn up.
"We are in the age of austerity and are facing huge cuts to our budgets and services," said Rankin. "In this climate, we cannot even afford to fund all the repairs that are needed at the bus station.
"We do understand that many people are passionate about the bus station and there is no doubt that it is a striking building, so it is very much a heart and a head dilemma that we face. But at the end of the day we have to vote with our heads. It is cheaper and better value for money to taxpayers to demolish the building and then work with Lancashire county council to build a new, modern, smaller and fit-for-purpose bus station in its place."
The council, which has a budget of £23m a year, has seen government funding cut by 40% in the last two years and expects further deep cuts. However, Rankin left the door open to a reprieve, saying demolition was not imminent and the council would "talk to any serious investors with a proposition to invest in it for the future".
The bus station has twice been put forward for listing by English Heritage and the Twentieth Century Society, but both times was personally vetoed by the culture secretary.
Clare Price, conservation adviser for the Twentieth Century Society, said the sums quoted by the council on replacement as opposed to refurbishment did not stack up.
"We think this is an extremely short-sighted decision," she said. "They said themselves they need a second opinion on the costs. I don't think they know how much it's going to cost. They need to have a proper proposal to replace it and they haven't looked properly at the proposals for refurbishment … There's been amazing support for this building, it's an irreplaceable work of art."
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Guardian