St Margaret's Bus Station is located on Gravel Street to the north of
Leicester City Centre, England. It is named after
St Margaret's Church, which stands just across Burleys Way.
History
The use of the site as a bus station dates back to the early 1940s.
The previous
bus station
A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...
was built in 1985 and at the time was a state-of-the-art arrival and departure point in the city. Councillor Derek Fryett, Chair of the Planning Committee opened it on 3 May 1985. The contractor was Costain Construction. Although considered one of the best stations in the country, Leicester City Council set about a programme of refurbishment in 2006. The major refurbishment was complete in March 2007 and the station was reopened by Councillor Patrick Kitterick on 24 May 2007.
Redevelopment
As part of a £14.3 million rebuilding scheme a new access road was completed in November 2020 allowing buses to access the
A594 ring road directly from the bus station, shortening journey times.
During December 2020,
Leicester City Council
Leicester City Council is the local authority for the city of Leicester, in the ceremonial county of Leicestershire, England. Leicester has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council ...
announced the bus station would close from 31 December
for around 18 months to allow for a total redevelopment of the bus station and surrounding roads.
St Margaret's is the first
carbon neutral
Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and Greenhouse gas removal, removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon diox ...
bus station in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. An official opening day was held on Sunday 26 June 2022 by the
Mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby, ahead of bus services returning the following day.
Services
Long-distance coach services operated by
National Express
Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...
operate from the new bus station with a purpose built travel centre and waiting facilities which opened on 5 July 2022.
Bus services serving the bus station are operated by
Arriva Midlands,
Centrebus,
Diamond East Midlands,
First Leicester and
Kinchbus to outlying areas of Leicestershire including:
South Wigston,
Lutterworth
Lutterworth is an historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, close to the borders with Warwicks ...
,
Rugby,
Coventry
Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
,
Hinckley
Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough, and is about halfway between L ...
,
Market Bosworth
Market Bosworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 1,906, increasing to 2,097 at the 2011 census. It is most famously near to the site of the decisive final battle of the ...
,
Coalville
Coalville is a town in the district of North West Leicestershire in Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. In 2011, it had a population of 34,575. It lies on the A511 road, A511 between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junct ...
,
Loughborough
Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...
,
Derby
Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
,
Birstall,
East Midlands Airport,
Uppingham
Uppingham is a market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Rutland, England, off the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, south of Oakham. It had a population of 4,745 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 4,853 in 2019. ...
,
Groby and
Ratby.
Facilities
The bus station facilities include a newsagents, cafe, public toilets, information kiosk, bicycle storage area and the
National Express
Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...
travel centre with waiting facilities for passengers.
References
{{Leicestershire buses, state=collapsed
External links
Information about St. Margaret's bus station from Leicester City Council websiteHistoric photographs of the bus station
Transport in Leicester
Buildings and structures in Leicester
Bus stations in the East Midlands
Transport infrastructure completed in 1985
1985 establishments in England