Bus station to become revamped £2.7m transport hub

The site in Tower Road was repurposed as a vaccine clinic

Plans to reopen Taunton's bus station as a revamped transport hub have been published - four years after it was last used.

The site in Tower Street was closed at the outbreak of the pandemic and repurposed as a vaccine centre.

Somerset Council inherited the building from the former Taunton and West Somerset District Council, and revealed it planned to turn it back into a bus station and reopen it in 2025.

Using special funding of £2.7m, it will feature a waiting room, digital displays, and toilets.

Buses use a row of stops near the old bus station

The new hub will also include six sheltered bus stops and five spaces for buses while they are not in service.

Two coach stops will also be developed in Castle Way providing an interchange for passengers between the local bus network and the nationwide coach journeys.

Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and digital, said: "We would urge people to get involved with the survey and take a look at the plans – please tell us what sort of facilities you’d like to see.

'Greener and cleaner'

"The transport hub is a really welcome development for bus users and those wishing to cycle or walk in Taunton.

"One of our key aims within the Taunton Garden Town Vision is to offer more transport options and by doing so reduce car dependency with increased bus service patronage, helping to create a greener, cleaner town centre."

A total of £2,715,050 has been allocated within the bus station improvement plan to deliver a "Taunton urban hub" for bus services – funding which cannot be spent elsewhere on any other projects.