Frequently Asked Questions about Wawick Bus Station
Q. Why have you located the temporary bus stops in Theatre Street and Bowling Green Street?
A. We wanted to ensure that the temporary stops were close to existing ones, meaning minimum disruption to passengers. Given the layout of streets in Warwick town centre, we had very limited options to achieve this. Despite the narrow pavement, the 'Mop' stop in Theatre Street seemed an obvious choice due to its location.
The new temporary stop in Bowling Green Street is directly opposite the junction with Market Street, and adjacent to the new bus station. The pavement is wider here which will be better for passengers waiting for buses at this stop.
Q. Why is there a new bus stop in Bowling Green Street when, during the Mop, passengers are directed to use the bus stop by the Kings Head pub on Saltisford and the one on North Rock opposite the Methodist Church?
A. We did consider these stops, which are ok for a few days during the Mop, but we felt that a stop nearer to the shops was essential during the several months it will take to build the bus station.
For passengers with limited mobility the new temporary stops will be easier as the stop near the Kings Head pub involves a steep walk up the hill to the shops. It is a longer walk back from the shops to both of these stops, which is also inconvenient for people carrying heavy shopping bags.
Q. Will there be any shelters or benches at the temporary bus stops?
A. The existing bus shelters are in good condition so will be recycled by being used in the new bus station. During the works they will be dismantled and stored. Unfortunately, the pavements are too narrow for the existing shelters to be temporarily used. We have arranged for a bench to be located at each temporary bus stop.
Q. How many car parking spaces will be lost to the new bus station?
A. The old car park has 49 spaces and the bus station will use up 17 of these, so there will be 32 new car parking spaces, including 4 disabled spaces.
Q. Why won’t the bus station be finished until December?
A. Originally we had hoped that the bus station construction would be finished at the end of the summer. There was a delay in submitting the planning application to the District Council while a number of technical details were negotiated during consultation with stakeholders over the final layout and plans.
There was also a requirement from Warwick District Council to have the Variable Message System (the automated car parking signs) up and running before they would release the land for construction work to start, so that people could be directed to alternative car parks during construction.
There were delays in getting the signs up and running due to a hold up with getting the power supply required in time.
Q. Why is the bus station taking so long to build, surely it just needs some new lines painting and shelters to be moved?
A. The works involve excavating the existing car park to a depth of about 1 metre to construct the new carriageway for the buses. These works could disturb existing archaeology and a condition was set in the planning permission to conduct a full programme of archaeological investigation and recording of the site before construction can commence in earnest.
Therefore, the construction programme of works is split into 3 phases:
Phase 1 - Site Clearance
Phase 2 - Archaeological Investigation
Phase 3 - Construction of Warwick Bus Station
The anticipated duration of Archaeological Investigation is approximately 10 weeks and has increased the duration of the construction process.
Construction of the Warwick Bus Station could be completed earlier than anticipated dependent on the duration and findings of the Archaeological Investigation.
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