A bus station could be replaced with a new library and 49 flats in a £10m regeneration scheme.
West Norfolk council wants to redevelop Hunstanton bus station, at the junction of Westgate and St Edmund’s Terrace.
It says the development will provide much needed housing and encourage town centre living to boost the town’s economy.
The scheme will be funded by private sales receipts, along with a £784,000 grant from Homes England designed which is designed to support local authorities to develop their land.
A planning statement says the move would provide for “renewed employment uses at the site” , by replacing its currently vacant shop and cafe with a larger unit, along with a larger library.
It adds: “The scheme will provide for a new library that is larger than the existing, as well as new public conveniences, which would constitute a significant benefit in the form of renewed
provision of such community facilities in this town centre location, together with a retail
unit, and 49 new homes.”
Three buildings are proposed, with the largest at the junction of Westgate and St Edmund’s Terrace housing the library, shop and toilets on the ground floor, with four storeys of 37 flats above it. Two other two-storey buildings would house the remaining 12 apartments.
Planning papers say the scheme would include 10 affordable units, while the current bus turning area would be replaced with 53 parking spaces.
The planning application states the loss of the bus station “will not constitute the loss of a community facility as the facility can be adequately replaced in terms of the function it provides by on street bus stops in the near vicinity”.
It adds these would be sited along St Edmund’s Terrace, within a minute’s walk.
During the redevelopment of the site, it is intended that the Hunstanton Public Library
would move to a temporary home within the Valentine Centre.
The statement concludes: “The proposal meets the requirements of all relevant adopted development plan policies, including with regards to housing delivery, town centre and community facilities policies, highway safety, parking provision, sustainable travel, residential amenities, foul and surface water drainage, managing flood risk, potential contamination risk, and landscaping.”
A pubic consultation event was held in November, 2019, where the response was “largely positive”. A decision is expected later this year.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here