Durham Bus Stn
Durham Bus Stn
I fear for what will be foisted onto Hexham in the way of a 'bus station'.
The County Council seem set on selling the current site for development, and I suspect they have Ashington in mind (not as a location - but as a 'model') when they propose linear bus stops along Priestpopple.
The majority of the services using Hexham bus station start and terminate there - there are just a minority that are 'through' services (683, 685, 687 and 688 IIRC).
With the layover time requiring somewhere to park the bus between runs, linear stops on busy Priestpopple will create congestion, and the plan to use Benson's monument as a turning point confirms that the 'planners' have no understanding of Hexham and Battle Hill.
I would insist that these planners should spend a whole day observing the movements and see the chaos that occurs - particularly around 3.30pm to 4.15pm when the school buses coincide with the arrival/departure of the afternoon 685, 687, 688, X85, X84, 74, Ten etc. (not to mention the Tyne Valley and Howard Snaith rural services) and imagine how on-street linear bus stops would cause gridlock.
However, I fear that NCC has made up their mind and will push ahead with their plans regardless . . .
