Bradford Interchange bus station to re-open in New Year

But even when it does, transport bosses will still draw up plans for a new station to eventually replace the ageing Interchange – which was built in the 1970s and was expected to have a 50-year life span.

The bus section of the Interchange was closed for safety reasons in early January, and has left Bradford without a functioning bus station for over nine months.

Bradford Interchange (Image: T&A)

Next week West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which owns and operates the Interchange, will receive a report on the future of the station. The report has been published today, and recommends the station be re-opened once safety measures are put in place.

This is likely to be in January – 12 months after the decision was made to close the station.

It will mean the bus hub will be back open in time for Bradford’s City of Culture year, and the station concourse, including the public toilets, is likely to re-open next month.

Bradford Interchange (Image: T&A)

The authority says that although the station is reaching the end of its life span, “it can remain operational for longer with a certain level of investment.”

But plans for a new bus station that will eventually replace the Interchange will be drawn up in the coming months, and will incorporate the planned tram services that are due to be introduced in Bradford.

West Yorkshire’s Mayor Tracy Brabin said the closure was “the right decision to make at the time” – and that the new surveys produced encouraging results.

Bradford Interchange (Image: T&A)

The shock decision to close the bus Interchange for safety reasons was made on January 4 after reports of a “concrete failure.”

On December 22 a lump of concrete fell from the Interchange structure into a basement car park at the station.

Follow up surveys found concrete defects in the structure, but that some areas remained in a “fair” condition.

Temporary bus stops were introduced across the city centre to keep bus services running, but facilities such as the public toilets in the station and the stores inside the Interchange were closed.

Many of these temporary bus stops have now been replaced by permanent stops that form part of Bradford’s Transforming Cities scheme to pedestrianise areas of the city centre.

A recent report into the WYCA’s finances has revealed that the “current operating arrangements” for bus travel in the city centre – a response to the Interchange closure, had cost around £3.2m.

The closure of the Interchange has been one of the biggest issues in Bradford since it was announced. Bus passengers were left furious that one of the busiest public transport hubs in West Yorkshire remained partially closed, and politicians slammed a lack of transparency about the station’s future from WYCA bosses.

The closure also coincided with the Government funded Transforming Cities work, and this timing led to often chaotic scenes at the bus stops scattered around the city centre in recent months.

Rather than catching the bus at the Interchange, passengers had to navigate a maze of fenced off areas in the city to catch buses at stops dotted around the centre.

Bradford Interchange (Image: T&A)

Council meetings have heard of passengers “in tears” due to the confusion.

Many of these new stops were only ever intended to be the first, or penultimate, stop of services to and from the Interchange, but with the closure they had to act as terminals for key bus routes for several months.

Built in the 1970s, and consisting of a huge raised concrete slab that sites over retail units and a basement car park space, the Interchange was intended to have a 50 year life span.

The report going to next week’s meeting of the Combined Authority says initial findings from structural surveys “have found that the risk of reopening is low when mitigated by appropriate safety measures.”

A statement from the Authority this afternoon said: “Structural investigations found the risk of resuming operations - once these appropriate control measures have been implemented - is low.

“Final detailed surveys are still underway, but the Combined Authority is now working at pace on plans to bring the structure back into operation by January 2025.

Bradford Interchange (Image: T&A)

“Health and safety is of paramount importance to the Combined Authority and a package of additional checks and due diligence will now be carried out before a final decision on the timing of the reopening is made in October.

“Mitigation measures include structural monitoring through periodic safety inspections and the provision of netting in the basement, alongside a staged reopening and preparation of an incident management plan.

“In addition, work is now starting on a longer-term plan, capitalising on the exciting programme to bring Mass Transit to Bradford, with an alternative multimodal bus interchange facility in the city centre plan being drawn up in the coming months.”

Ms Brabin said: “We know the closure of the bus station has caused real hardship for the people of Bradford and West Yorkshire and I want to thank the public for their patience.

“It was the right decision to make at the time, but I’m really encouraged by the survey findings being outlined today and relieved that it can be reopened once mitigations have been implemented.

“Though the formal decision still needs to be made, we will be working flat out so we can see the Interchange safely reopen as soon as possible.”

Bradford Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: "I recognise how incredibly challenging this has been for passengers and local businesses, and the inconvenience and disruption this has caused, so I'm very relieved that the Combined Authority is now mobilising to re-open the Interchange.

"We'll be working closely with the Combined Authority to make sure that it reopens as soon as possible.”

The report will be discussed by the Combined Authority at a meeting in Wellington House, Leeds, on Thursday September 19.