Fire-damaged Slough Bus Station site could be sold off

The site of a landmark bus station in Slough which has stood empty since being ravaged by fire could be sold off after it was deemed surplus to requirements.

The station in Brunel Way, which features a distinct 70-metre aluminium structure,  was opened in 2011 as part of the £450million ‘Heart of Slough’ regeneration project.

In October 2022, a fire caused ‘significant structural damage’ to the station, and it has remained closed ever since while the council was involved in a protracted insurance claim which was only resolved in September last year.

With insurance and legal matters now resolved, cabinet members were asked to make a decision on the future of the bus station at a cabinet committee meeting on Thursday.

A report which went before cabinet members recommended that the site be declared ‘surplus’ – paving the way for a potential sale of the site.

However, the meeting at Observatory House heard this decision would be ‘the first step’ in a ‘long process’.

Councillor Wal Chahal (Con, Langley Marish), the council’s lead member for assets and transformation, said this will allow the council to ‘properly engage with the market’ and explore different options for what the site could become in the future.

Cllr Chahal added: “The council remains firmly committed to delivering a modern, high-quality bus interchange as a core component of [the] town centre regeneration.”

Before any future decisions to sell the station, a report will have to go before the council’s cabinet for approval.

But several councillors addressed the meeting from the public gallery, asking the committee to consider other options before deciding the site was surplus to requirements.

Councillor Subhash Mohindra (Con, Upton) said: “A bus station is like [the] lung of a town.

“The bus station was like a hub.

“Selling the site permanently removes the council’s ability to shape integrated transport planning for decades, and Slough’s economy will again suffer.

“Selling the asset solves the short-term balance sheet issue but creates a long-term transport regeneration issue here.”

But Cllr Chahal said that such a decision would not signal a ‘retreat’ from public provision in Slough.

The meeting report said the cost to repair the bus station and bring it back into use would cost £14.26million, while the insurance payout was ‘significantly lower’ than hoped once costs and legal fees were taken into account.

The council is also paying £19,000 every month to keep the site secure.

But Cllr Dhruv Tomar (Con, Slough Central) asked for clarification on the projected price of the station’s redevelopment.

Cllr Tomar said: “This site is not just a piece of land, it’s a strategic transport infrastructure, and once it’s sold, it’s gone forever.

“At a time when residents are being encouraged to reduce car use… the decision to sell our central bus station sends a conflicting and damaging message.”

Pat Hayes, the council’s executive director for regeneration, housing and environment, told the meeting that the £14million valuation is ‘relatively robust’ and was done as part of the insurance claim to ‘replace like for like’.

Mr Hayes said: “Our view across the organisation is that that bus station, both locationally and in design terms is not the best place for an interchange.”

He added that a ‘less like for like replacement’ would be possible, but the council would be investing into a facility that would not generate enough profit and would lose revenue instead.

Ultimately, committee members decided to declare the site surplus.

Councillor Robert Stedmond (Con, Cippenham Green) said the bus station ‘never worked correctly’ with a ‘dangerous’ layout.

Cllr Stedmond said: “We have survived without the bus station for three years now and we haven’t actually lost any bus route as a result of not having the bus station there.

“It’s not in the right location for me.”