Preston Central Bus Station and Car Park

Preston Central Bus Station and Car Park

A bus station with multi-storey car park above and taxi rank, designed by Keith Ingham and Charles Wilson of Building Design Partnership with E H Staziker, the Borough Engineer and Surveyor, and Ove Arup and Partners as consulting structural engineers. Opened in 1969.

The building measures approximately 170 metres long by 40 metres wide and sits within a broad rectangular apron extending on both sides to allow bus movements. It is constructed of reinforced and pre-cast concrete with partial white tile-cladding and glazing. Original signage and fittings are in Glaskon Glasfilme GRP, also used for telephone kiosks and timetable holders, alongside steel and iroko hardwood timber.

The tall double-height ground floor, responding to the height of double-decker buses, contains 40 bus stands on both east and west sides. Above this is a multi-storey car park on a split-level design with four decks on the west side and five decks on the east. The ground floor is glazed, with the car park decks above having curved concrete fronts of T-beam form. The north and south ends are clad in vertically laid white tiles with wide joints and breaks in the grid pattern at each floor level. Supporting columns display beach pebble aggregate exposed by grit blasting. Four rectangular lift shafts clad in white tiles protrude above the upper deck.

The bus station interior contains a central spine of buildings with passenger facilities including kiosks, cafeteria, information and booking offices on the ground floor, and staff offices and rest facilities above. Waiting areas adjacent to the bus stands are divided by metal and wood barriers. The passenger concourse is fully glazed with a sliding door system providing two doors for each bus stand. Above the door heads a wooden and GRP perimeter destination board runs the entire length of the main elevations with original bus stand numbers and destinations. The floor is of black rubber tiles, with the central spine clad in vertically laid white tiles to the ground floor and glazing above. Rich brown oiled iroko wood is used for seats, doors and barrier rails. The concourse ceiling exposes the soffits of pre-cast concrete floor units. Carefully designed original features include purposely-designed signage and clocks in GRP and custom-made oiled timber handrails.

An island taxi rank with round-ended waiting platform and concrete roof of similar design stands at the south end of the bus station, together with an 80-foot-high lighting gantry.

Vehicular access to and from the car park is via curved concrete ramps at the north and south ends. The north end has an entrance ramp to Level 1 and exit ramp from Level 2, with a two-carriageway entrance and exit ramp from Level 1 at the south-east corner. Ramps connect the parking levels at the north and south ends, retaining free-standing GRP arrows as directional signage.

The perimeter of the site and access is defined by raised areas of hard landscaping re-using granite setts. Pedestrian access to the building is segregated via three subways and an elevated walkway, which are excluded from this listing as less successful elements of the structure.