On 30 Jun 2015 at 2:48pm townie wrote:
Is this entire site not being considered for development in any shape or form ?
Whilst i appreciate that the cafe (pizza place ?) is there, isn't it about time we dragged this huge area into the 21st century ?
Shops...even a small covered mall ?
A covered market ?
Dare i say...houses ?
On 30 Jun 2015 at 4:54pm bastian wrote:
townie, it is oin the core strategy to be built on, dpriving yet anoth society of a shed and a buisiness of a premesis and of course, th buses will have to queue up outside waitrose or on the hill. It is a practical bus station, leave it alone. I assume you never use buses so aren't quite sure what the problem is.
On 30 Jun 2015 at 5:06pm baxterssoup wrote:
The reason the bust station is currently waiting it out , is that a redevelopmentwould require alternative provision. Buses blocking Lewes's already dysfunctional clogger traffic system would be unlikely to get approval by ESCC Highways. The North St redevelopment could accommodate something but the current road layout is very problematic.
On 30 Jun 2015 at 5:31pm Merc wrote:
Why not get rid of the Bus Station altogether its not like its used by anyone worthy or of significance. It would be better served if it were a Tobacconist.
On 30 Jun 2015 at 6:13pm Beemer wrote:
It could become cottages
On 30 Jun 2015 at 7:37pm Merlin Milner wrote:
It's fate is dependant upon not just North street, but the Waitrose / Wenban-Smith / car park development plans. Personally I feel we need a bus station and we need to be vigilant with future plans to ensure that we not end up with a series of inadequate bus stops.
On 30 Jun 2015 at 7:58pm Country Boy wrote:
Hmmmm... now there's an idea. A mini Aix en Provence style bus interchange would be perfect and it would allow other development on the same site.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 6:21am Sussex Jim wrote:
Bus stops are for stopping; to pick up passengers en route.
The bus station is necessary for buses waiting to begin a journey- some services start and finish there. We do not want parked up buses clogging the town centre.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 7:01am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
Does the place where buses wait really need to be in the centre of town though?
If a bus station could be fitted in down past Tesco or somewhere similar, I think that would be fine.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 9:07am Merlin Milner wrote:
I believe that we need a central bus hub / interchange in the centre of Lewes in the same way the railway station is Lewes' rail interchange. Sadly to put the 2 together would be very difficult. Any further plans for the current bus station / Waitrose / Wenban-Smith / car park need to ensure that this interchange is kept and enhanced.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 10:44am Lewesbod wrote:
Who actually owns these sites?
On 1 Jul 2015 at 11:18am neighbour wrote:
Martin Elliott or a company linked to him. He closed the site to buses for over a year but eventually relented and allowed them back in as people were standing on narrow pavements in East Street. He is bound by the Local Development Framework to provide suitable alternative provision in the event he redevelops but cannot do this - at least until the Waitrose redevelopment starts. The last I heard these plans will not be ready until next year.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 11:25am Hmm wrote:
Many of us rely on buses for transport, the bus station is in a convenient location already, it provides shelter for bus passengers and a useful and popular business space. Let's keep it there! Also let's protect our bus services which seem to be being replaced at an increasing pace by Chelsea tractors and people carriers which just clog up the town. Personally I'd like the side gate from East Street re-opened. Our society is far too car dominant.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 12:46pm Blocked wrote:
I pressume that just because the owner of the bus station has been blocking a long held public right of access across to the bus station from East St doesn't mean that we have lost that right of access. Maybe the owners of the properties next to Baxter's Field would like to fight for that right of access too?
On 1 Jul 2015 at 12:48pm fat controller wrote:
What about the acres of railway land who owns that
On 1 Jul 2015 at 12:51pm Magna Carta wrote:
Sorry we didn't include rights of access
On 1 Jul 2015 at 1:16pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
Isn't the railway land held in a trust, like Landport Bottom?
On 1 Jul 2015 at 2:18pm bastian wrote:
What do you mean "what about the railway land?"
It's contaminated site, not fit for building and it is a NATURE RESERVE.
Perhaps you would build on every inch of soil until you die of starvation beacuse there is no land to grow food on.
Annette, you can't put the bus station down at Tesco because all the old people won't be able to get to it, and they actually use the buses, but then when did anyone take them into account when the developers moved in.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 2:21pm Local Conservationist... wrote:
The Lewes Railway Land is owned by Lewes District Council, and jointly managed by them, Natural England, The Wildlife Trust. This is because it is registered as a National Nature Reserve. Due to the rarity of wetland habitats in the UK, it would be foolish to even consider building there. This, coupled with the risk of flood and contamination from the railway and gas works 50 years earlier makes it unviable as a development site.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 2:42pm Paul wrote:
does the bus station site include the massive building next to the shops i.e. not the one with the Hearth in it. That could be redeveloped or built on without affecting the buses couldn't it?
On 1 Jul 2015 at 4:10pm sensible wrote:
They should put another floor or two over the existing car park at the train station (next to the bridge on Station Road). This would provide more car parking, better turning space and could give space for a new bus depot and better drop off / pick up for the station.
They can then put sites like the bus depot to better use.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 4:51pm Sussex Jim wrote:
Annette- The current bus station is in an ideal place now, in the centre of the town shopping area. Most bus routes also serve Tesco: which is mainly geared towards car users doing bulk shopping.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 6:09pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
I don't see why you actually need a bus station in the town centre, as long as all the buses go through there and stop so that the old people, and everyone else for that matter, can get on them.
Buses don't actually need to be in the town centre just waiting around till their departure time.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 6:34pm Hmm wrote:
Hi Annette, the problem with just having a bus stop and not a bus station in the centre of town, is that buses stop for a very short time, if at all, at a bus stop. They have to be err stationary, at a station so that we can be able to definitely get on them! Tescos is too far out of the way for many people, especially the elderly and disabled. Bus stations also act as community information sites and meeting places, well they used to anyway before privatisation did its job
On 1 Jul 2015 at 9:02pm Blakey wrote:
I love the Bus Station as it is. In all it's glory. I used to get my baccy from the little kiosk shop when I smoked. I met my first blind date there in 1975. Leave it be, please.
On 1 Jul 2015 at 11:40pm The Old Mayor wrote:
That bus station is an eyesore ! Posted from my laptop cos my iPad has been cut out !
On 2 Jul 2015 at 7:37am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
But people manage to get on buses at bus stops ok on their way into town. I'm not being difficult, but I really can't see the problem!
I've been racking my brains to think of where bus stations are in other towns, but can only think of a couple. In Croydon, the bus station is a proper interchange, but still right on the edge of what is a pretty large shopping centre. Bridport has a bus stand a fair way from the main centre of town in a long stay car park (the same car park also contains a fab American-diner style café that does great greasy spoon food and is well worth a visit).
Does Brighton even have a bus station? Or Eastbourne? There are plenty of towns as big as, or bigger than, Lewes that seem to function perfectly well without them.
If the bus station still fulfilled its meeting place/community information function, I'd feel differently, but it doesn't, sadly.
On 2 Jul 2015 at 8:21am Butler wrote:
You old tart Blakey any date you had would've had to be blind. I bet her dog was better looking than you. LOL I'll always get one over on you.
On 2 Jul 2015 at 9:09am Hmm wrote:
Hi again Annette, I regularly catch- up with people at the bus station , and the cafe there with table and chairs also creates a meeting space. Just because something has been run down in order for privatised companies to make a buck or two at the expense of people's needs and well- being, doesn't mean that they can't be built up again with public, oh and council support! As to other other towns having or not having us stations, I don't think that's too relevant. We have one here, lots of people (elderly, disabled, kids, those of us to choose or can't drive) make good use of the buses. Surely we should be encouraging this use, or do we just all go out and buy cars, or at least those of us who can afford to. Methinks our town is getting pretty gridlocked at times as it is. Also what possible use would be better for the site? It opens onto a busy and fast road in a highly pedestrianised area. More apartments with more car parking spaces needed?, a car park?! Do we really need these things in the Lewes, or are we just greasing the palms of estate agents and property developers?!
On 2 Jul 2015 at 9:15am The Old Mayor wrote:
Brighton - Lewes Road Bus Garage, where the drivers hang out and change over, the buses are stored, cleaned and refueled maybe.Buses start and terminate here. A real working area, not just a bus stop like ours.
On 2 Jul 2015 at 9:22am Hmm wrote:
Ps Annette. If you are still not sure why having a central bus station is a good idea, perhaps try taking a bus journey from there, and also another one from a roadside bus -stop and a rainy day with a full load of shopping, or perhaps someone in a wheelchair, or a kid in a pushchair? I'm not being mean, it will just help you to understand the needs that some others in this town have. If people come to Lewes and object to things perhaps it's the wrong place for them to be? For instance, if we build apartments on every square in has they seem to be doing in the twittens ( St Nicholas' Lane etc.) why not just move to a town or city that already has lots of buildings like this, London perhaps? Why move to Lewes?
On 2 Jul 2015 at 11:15am Do the bus stop wrote:
When the bust station was built it was to provide somewhere for multiple numbers of buses to come and go without blocking Lewes,s narrow streets, somewhere to wait for them and somewhere to repeair and story them. We can hardly expect people to use buses if we make them hang out in all weathers in the street. I am not sure we still need a garage but how about some forward thinking? Can we all pressume that nothing will change and that our grandchildren may not be forced to rely more on environmentally sustainable transport, or even just affordable transport. I suspect some people would change their view if they had to rely on public transport. We are likely to as we all live longer but are less likely to be allowed to drive.
On 2 Jul 2015 at 2:48pm Belladonna wrote:
I love the bus garage and station. Seems Lewes is going to be full of new developments and plenty of new housing (if not affordable) . If it has to be moved then put it on the Phoenix estate, given they are proposing new road layouts there to tie it into the rest of the town. Martin Elliot should already be in talks with Eaitrose and Santon. By the way - I thought he went bust in the crash ? Is he back in business ? I heard he and Chris Oakley worked together on those four modern houses on The Avenue - that I presume are the ones claiming garden gate access to Baxters Field.....
On 2 Jul 2015 at 4:44pm Do the bus stop wrote:
Mr Elliot was associated with some LTD companies that went under. How this affected him, or his family, whose names are scattered across the various Ltd companies is a mystery. I suspect the people that paid the price were employees and of course the occupants and neighbours of his buildings some of which would not have made it in their current form past any other Planning. Authority. I think Santon were responsible for the ongoing mess in St Nicholas Lane which still has scaffolding on it years after being finished. I suspect when it was described as an iconic landmark development to gullible Councillors, this was,t what was meant!
On 2 Jul 2015 at 7:05pm bastian wrote:
Elliot nearly sunk the football club when his company crashed to. I blamr the round table for alot of the wiring under the board in this town, many deals are done at the fatstock dinner, they are all in the club and it is obvious (if you ever have the misfortune to attend) who runs Lewes, who shakes who's hand.
Santon were indeed the builder sof the St Nicholas lane travesty under the name Raven.