New £2m bus station and tourist hub plan for Hunstanton

West Norfolk council abandoned plans to build new homes on shops on Hunstanton bus station and the former library which stood next to the site off Westgate earlier this year.

It said rising costs and changes to building regulations had made the £10m scheme unviable.

Now Norfolk County Council has said final plans are being drawn up for a new bus station and library, which will also offer tourist information, along with new green space and refurbished public toilets.

It says the new station will also be linked to walking and cycling routes.

The current bus station at Hunstanton (Image: Chris Bishop)Graham Plant, the county's cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: "We know that one of the biggest challenges for people who want to take public transport more often is onwards journeys.

"This new-look Hunstanton Bus Station answers those problems by bringing cycling and walking infrastructure right to the doors of the bus.

"With a library and other services right in the same place, it makes greener, more sustainable travel a real, viable choice for service users and visitors to this beautiful part of our coastline."

The project is estimated to cost Norfolk County Council £2m, with half coming from money provided by central government to improve bus services and the remainder from the council.

An artist's impression of the new bus station at Hunstanton (Image: Norfolk County Council)

Detailed design work on the hub is now in progress, with the final blueprint expected to be completed by spring 2024. 

Work is expected to start in September and be completed by spring 2025.

Some 47 new homes were originally proposed for the site, in plans drawn up in 2020.

The scheme was given planning permission the following year - despite objections to proposals to move bus stops onto nearby St Edmund's Terrace from the bus company Lynx.