(22 Feb 2023, 7:13 pm)Storx wrote I personally don't understand the obsession with bus stations either. Are they really needed? It's a waste of space or would a few bus stops like most other towns and cities have be enough. That space should've been used, including the abandoned shopping centre pretty much, for the cinema, restaurants and bowling alley but no we'll open that at Tindale instead.

It's the exact sort of thing which would revive the centre. Instead we've got a bus station serving a Saver's, Wilko and Greggs as there's really nothing else there while everyone else is driving and jamming into the car parks at Tindale.

Seems to be a thing local councillors and MPs seem to think we want right now, our local MP tried to get Newton Aycliffe a "Bus Interchange" in the levelling up fund but was unsuccessful, stupid idea anyway considering no-one wants to shop here and no company wants to open any shops here because the company which owns the town centre are practically charging London rates on rent and it wasn't like you could interchange between services anyway when they all run in tandem more or less to/from Darlington. Thing we actually want is more car parking as since the multistorey got condemned (which is where the "interchange" was planned to be) parking spaces have been hard to come by since.

With regards to replacing much of Bishop Auckland Bus Station with car parking, considering car usage is on the rise, may as well use the excess space as its mostly just wasted with space between some stands and others barely in use anymore.