Plans have been unveiled by CENTRO for the planned multi-million pound revamp for Stourbridge town's outdated bus station. CENTRO have come up up with two plans for the bus station on which local residents can view and have their say during a public consultation starting next week. CENTRO hope that the new bus station will encourage more people to turn to public transport in the area.

The station facelift which could cost up to £3.5 million is planned to make the bus station in Foster Street / Vauxhall Road safer and easier to use. Improvements to the planned bus station include covered waiting areas, new electronic information displays, braille boards which have been used in other bus stations in the area, pedestrian crossings, security cameras, a new cafe and a parking area.

Plan 1 which shows the cafe and undercover waiting area in the centre of the bus station.		Plan 2 which shows a similar layout to the current bus station.

A spokesperson for CENTRO said "The bus station is reaching the end of its life in terms of the facilities it offers. We want to provide the best services possible for passengers so we want to upgrade the facilities and improve safety and provide a better environment for bus users to help encourage more people to use the bus as an alternative to the car."

CENTRO have unveiled the plans after Tesco recently displayed plans to their proposed store and will not affect the placement of the bus station. If Tesco plans are passed, the proposed store would see the notorious subway filled in and replaced with a crossing on the ring road, which would encourage more people to use the public transport in the area. In original proposals, CENTRO bosses had been considering a "drive in, reverse out" layout, but due to fears on health and safety issues, have now opted for the current "drive in, drive out" system.

CENTRO will be displaying the plans on the CENTRO exhibition bus on Thursday 03 August between 2-7pm, Saturday 05 August between 10am-3pm and Wednesday 09 August between 10am-4pm. On these dates you will be able to pass on your comments about the improvements to the bus station. Once residents consultations have been taken into consideration and subject to funding, work on the bus station could begin in 2008.