An eye on Ilfracombe

Whilst on a recent visit to Ilfracombe, back out enjoying the delights the South West has to offer, it came as quite a shock to find that the old Bus Station in the town is no longer used for its original purpose, and is instead now infested with cars! Yet there appears to be no appropriate signage to say that this is now allowed, with ‘Buses Only’ signs and road markings still in place. No services now use the bus station, and instead wait time just up the road, and load up just before the sharp right hand bend approaching the bus station. It’s fair to say that Ilfracombe’s bus station wasn’t the nicest place to be whilst waiting for your bus, it had certainly been neglected for many years, with the closure of the bus depot not helping its cause. The old office buildings are also a shadow of what they once were, but it is a shame that it has now used for another purpose with no effort made to bring it up to scratch. The space as it is, isn’t ideal for cars as it stands anyway, and is really quite an inefficient use of the void.

The land was sold by First Devon and Cornwall in 2007 along with the depot buildings, with proposals to turn the space into 50 flats, but this was rejected in 2012. It was the withdrawal of First from the bus station though that appears to have prompted its closure by its new owners Omnium and was due to be closed off to the public, but evidently, that hasn’t been the case. There now appears to be no set use for the space, with nothing proposed, unless the company is continuing to modify it’s idea for dwellings to be built in its place. In reaction to the closure of the bus station there are going to be changes to the roads in the town centre, with a new mini roundabout added, as well as extra space for buses to wait time and load/unload from, as what is there at the moment is somewhat inadequate; although it must be said, no where near as busy as it has been in the past.