Preston Bus Station Architecture

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One of Proud Preston’s most prominent architectural features is its central bus station, which has as many admirers as opponents. I personally hate the monstrous eyesore. It was built in 1968-69 to Brutalist designs by Charles Williams and Keith Ingham, with 80 bus bays (despite Preston not having 80 bus and coach services) and a multi-storey car park. Brutalism is designed to look stark and direct, with exposed vast amounts of concrete and brick, undecorated or patterned. It is often used in purely functional buildings, such as government offices, schools and soul-less council housing blocks such as the notorious slums of Moss Side and Hulme in Manchester, which have now been mercifully demolished. Critics of Brutalism include myself, John Betjamen and Prince Charles who actually said the Luftwaffe only reduced architecture to rubble while Brutalism treats it worse. It’s rare for me to agree with royalty. The station is awkward to leave or approach on foot, with just a few subways and zebra crossings set far apart. Simply crossing anywhere between buses can result in criminal fines. Where possible, passengers board or get off at bus stops elsewhere in the city rather than going into the station concourse. The station narrowly avoided demolition in 2013 when just over a 1,000 admirers petitioned successfully to get it recognized as a grade 2 building of architectural interest through the National Trust. It is a truly horrible structure that shows Brutalism really lives up to its name. Arthur Chappell