Brutalist Preston Bus Station to be saved

Preston Bus Station is to get Grade II listing status. The move comes after months of campaigning by the Twentieth Century Society architecture pressure group and other interested parties. The protective status was given to the Brutalist transport hub by Heritage Minister Ed Vaizey and effectively derails plans by the local council to demolish the 1960s building. Preston Town Council leader Peter Rankin told the Lancashire Evening Post he was ‘disappointed’ by the decision. Yesterday, it was announced that a cold war bunker in Gravesend and an electricity substation in Sheffield, both in a similar architectural style, were also to be listed. Vaizey stated then ”Everyone knows that England has a fine and wonderful built heritage but it’s sometimes forgotten that we have many outstanding modern buildings too. Our architects are among the best in the world and it’s absolutely right that their finest work is afforded the same protection as their historic forebears. The buildings and structures I am listing today demonstrate this well: innovative, exciting and eye-catching, they each in different ways show that architecture in this country is very much alive and well in the modern world.’