New Nuneaton bus station now feasible after government funds unlocked
Westminster has allocated £6 million that will go towards the project
Government cash is set to unlock a new and long-awaited £6 million bus station in Nuneaton.
It heads the list of new projects that Warwickshire County Council plans to use its £12.5 million worth of Local Authority Bus Grant on, a four-year funding stream from the Department for Transport (DfT).
The aim is to deliver the new station by March 2030 with a report from the county’s principal transport planner and project manager Nigel Whyte describing it as “public realm enhancement” which looks to deliver a “modern, efficient and passenger-focused bus station on a reduced footprint”.
The idea is that the decrease in size will free up Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council-owned land “to support economic regeneration of the town centre”.
After Nuneaton missed out on Levelling Up cash, the county council – then under Conservative control – included the project in Warwickshire’s Bus Service Improvement Plan in September 2023.
Alongside smaller enhancements for Rugby, it was selected as a priority in June 2024 in line with the views of the county’s Bus Task & Finish Group – a cross-party panel of councillors that considered how the DfT money should be spent.
The report highlights short-term and wider financial risks. With the money trickling through across four years, a cashflow shortfall is anticipated in the first three years of the project “due to the programme and the nature of the scheme”.
It explains: “There is a risk that the costs incurred in developing the scheme, including preliminary and detailed design fees, ground surveys and investigation works, utility searches, service diversions, and possible public engagement and planning application costs could exceed the budget available prior to receipt of the scheduled £3.1 million allocation (in year four).
“This is a cashflow risk rather than a cost overrun risk as year-four funding is
expected to balance the scheme finances.”
Other risks, including potential issues with underground utilities, high construction contract costs and inflation are also listed. Any delays beyond March 2030 could see costs increase or the DfT claw back grant money if it is not spent by deadlines.
Nevertheless, the principle is set to be backed by cabinet – the Reform UK panel of councillors in charge of major service areas – on Thursday (September 12) before being listed for approval in a vote of all county councillors in December.
Should it get through both votes, officers – the council’s employed professionals – will commence design and implementation on £7 million worth of schemes in the council year 2027-28.
They include the Nuneaton project, £250,000 of works in Rugby and a further £752,000 worth of “minor enhancements” that the report says “may include key bus stops in settlements such as Alcester, Bidford-on-Avon, Coleshill, Henley-in-Arden, Kingsbury, Shipston-on-Stour, Studley and Water Orton”.