BURNLEY’S bus station is among the safest in Britain after winning a top safety award.
The eye-catching £3m. bus station received the SafeMark award – only the third such honour awarded in Lancashire.
The accolade recognises that the Croft Street facility is a place where passengers can feel safe.
A “mystery shopper” visited the bus station marked against a series of criteria, including health and safety, CCTV coverage, staff training and measures in place to tackle anti-social behaviour.
The judges looked at issues such as making sure there are no dark corners where people could lurk or the design and monitoring of toilets to tackle any illegal activities.
“It’s a bit like getting a Michelin star,” said David Woodroffe, group passenger facilities manager with bus operator Transdev Blazefield.
“It’s a big honour for the bus station and reflects all the hard work that’s gone into making it as safe as possible for everyone who uses it.”
Coun. Roger Frost, Burnley Council’s executive member responsible for the bus station, said: “I hope that achieving this honour will encourage more people, especially lone travellers, to feel they can use the bus station in safety, whatever time of the day.
“The bus station is popular and well-used and this SafeMark award will help cement its reputation. Those of us who can remember what bus stations used to be like will recognise just how far they have come.”
The bus station will be judged annually and will have to maintain its standards in order to retain the honour. Nelson and Chorley bus stations are the other sites in Lancashire to have achieved the award.
The award was welcomed by Burnley’s Community Safety Partnership which oversees work to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime across the borough.