Central Square

Anyone been in or near to take some photos???

Anyone been in or near to take some photos???

It's open for preview viewing from 27-28-29 June 2024 for people to take photos etc.

https://nation.cymru/news/first-look-in ... -it-opens/

Some interesting nuggets of info in this article about retail units and phased increase of services operating from the terminal.

When they say coaches cannot currently use the facility, but they're looking into allowing them, what exactly do they mean? What's stopping them from allowing coaches to use the facility right now exactly?

Im thinking that it might not be suitable for coaches they need to remain on-stand for extended periods for loading/unloading baggage, changing drivers etc. They probably need to allow a much longer period between scheduled arrivals and departures of services operated by the same vehicle due to delays etc. Maybe the same vehicle operates different service numbers - eg a coach arrives as service 123 , departs as service 456. Im sure this could be accommodated with dynamic stand allocations etc, but it's going to make operations more complex.

I thought the coach station was being constructed as part of the new multi story car park south of the train station.

Not as part of the car park development. I suppose it could go where the surface car park is now. I think they will have to finalise the plans for the tram station first though and see what space is left.

I thought the coach station was being constructed as part of the new multi story car park south of the train station.

Yes me too, I remember reading that there would be a few coach bays within the MSP development.

I thought the coach station was being constructed as part of the new multi story car park south of the train station.

Yes me too, I remember reading that there would be a few coach bays within the MSP development.

I believe that the bus/coach bays included in the original MSCP planning application were later removed from the plans. I don't know if these were meant to be for a coach facility.

I believe that the bus/coach bays included in the original MSCP planning application were later removed from the plans. I don't know if these were meant to be for a coach facility.

I've had a look back through the planning apps and there were 3 shallow angle coach bays located between the ledger building and the MSCP in the original phase 1 application. Taxis and coaches would have entered from the south west and exited to the north east along this one-way road - the taxi rank looping through the interior of the car park. There are no coach bays in the revised plans which relocate the entrance of the car park to the north of the structure and have the taxis turning west on exit into the now two-way access road.

I couldn't find any narrative explanation for why the coach bays have been dropped, but I assume its because the access road between the Ledger and the MSCP no longer passes through the site and there is not enough room for a coach to turn around and exit the same way it came in. But I doubt that the coach bays were just some speculative, "nice to have", feature dreamt up by the architects - presumably TFW, Network Rail or the Council asked for them to be included?

Even if they weren't intended for long distance coach operators to use, there surely still needs to be somewhere for the inevitable "Rail Replacement Bus" to park!