North Gate bus station
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North Gate
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Front entrance of the bus station
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| Location | Bradshaw Street, Northampton, NN1 2HL Northampton |
| Coordinates | 52°14′19″N 0°53′55″W / 52.2387°N 0.8985°WCoordinates: 52°14′19″N 0°53′55″W / 52.2387°N 0.8985°W |
| Bus stands | 14 |
| Bus operators | Stagecoach, Uno |
| Connections | Northampton railway station (885 metres) |
| History | |
| Opened | 2 March 2014 |
North Gate bus station is the bus station which serves the town of Northampton in England.
The building opened on 2 March 2014 on the site of the town's former Fishmarket. The new station was built to replace the previous Greyfriars bus station which dated from 1976, to allow expansion on that site.
Located on Bradshaw Street, the station is close to the Market Square, and other town centre attractions and facilities. The Northampton railway station is approximately 0.9 km away.
The station consists of 14 departure bays — 12 on its western side and 2 on its southern side — served from the main concourse building, which contains ticketing facilities, toilets, a café and shops. A further 8 bays for south-bound journeys out of the town are located on the Drapery.
The majority of bus services continue to be operated by Stagecoach. Uno is a smaller operator who also use the facility. National Express and other coach services run from Victoria Street, just north of the station where there are no facilities.
On the first working day of operation unprecedented traffic congestion occurred causing gridlock for several hours. Emergency work to mark surrounding junctions and erect temporary pedestrian barriers was carried out to try to ease the problems. Later access to College Street was restricted and access to the Park Inn Hotel altered. Similar incidents, though less severe have occurred since. Users have complained about the capacity of the station building and the open bus shelters on The Drapery. This is particularly an issue during poor weather, passengers with limited mobility and those changing between services.
Planning Permission for the £7 million project to create a new bus interchange in Northampton was granted in August 2012. Demolition work started in December 2012 to remove the old former Fishmarket building so work could start on the new modern bus interchange. The Fishmarket was completely demolished by March 2013.
In May 2013, the framework of the new station started to be erected. In June 2013, work began on improving the streets around the new station with new paving slabs, bus shelters and road surfaces. New traffic lights and a pedestrian crossing linking the bus station with the Market Square were also installed. A topping-out ceremony was held on 17 September 2013.
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