Exeter Green Party have demanded a better deal for the redevelopment of the bus station site and have said if this cannot be achieved the application should be rejected. The demand comes following revelations that the private developer of the site has pulled out of funding a new bus and coach station for the city.
At a meeting with civil society groups last week, council officials revealed that the Council itself would now fund a bus station though a capital receipt, following the refusal by developers to do so. Greens argue these funds could have been spent on other Council investments or services. They also say the proposed bus station is now smaller than originally planned, does not include facilities for the 340,000 annual coach users, and does not offer the potential for future growth in passenger numbers or services.
In a letter to Labour Council leader, Pete Edwards, The Green Party express alarm at the fact that planning gain from the developers to fund the bus and coach station has been withdrawn. Exeter Green Party member, Diana Moore, said:
“The Council must have the courage to secure a better deal for Exeter which includes an enhanced bus and coach station. The current proposals fall well short of the City Council’s own redevelopment principles issued in 2012. We need a state-of-the-art development which will encourage the big shift to public transport we so desperately need to address pollution, congestion and carbon emissions in the city.
“The development of the bus station site must prioritise people’s needs, not the financial interests of the developers. If this deal cannot be improved then we would back the Council in refusing this application in order to secure a greatly improved proposal or indeed a new development partner.”
Read the letter to Cllr Edwards here.