Preston Bus Station saved by listing

Preston Bus Station is to be saved after it was granted Grade II listing, despite the council saying it's too big and too expensive to keep.

Preston City Council announced in December that it could no long afford to keep the building open, saying it costs £300,000 a year to maintain in its current state and would require an investment of around £20m to modernise.

It had unveiled a £1.8m to bulldoze the site. However, campaigners fought to keep what they argue is an inconic piece of the city.

Following the listing, English Heritage said it would not prevent changes being made to the building, provided its architectural significance was protected.

Labour councillor Peter Rankin said: "We've always said the bus station is too big, provides relatively poor facilities for bus passengers and costs Preston taxpayers over £300,000 a year to maintain. "We will have to take some time now to consider the listing decision and the options for moving forward. We need to look at costs and the impact on budgets and how it affects Preston taxpayers. We will work closely with Lancashire County Council as transport authority to consider the next steps."