Burnley Bus Station ‘One of the Safest in Britain’

Let's hear it for Burnley Bus Station, which last week was declared one of the safest bus stations in Britain.

Opened in 2002, Burnley's modern bus interchange has just received the SafeMark award which assures its users that this is an area in which they can genuinely feel safe.

Apparently, this is not an easy award to win. It involves ‘mystery shoppers' carrying out secret visits and marking it against a set of strict criteria including health and safety, CCTV coverage, and measures to tackle anti-social behaviour.

The judges want to be sure there were no dark corners where people could lurk, and that the design and monitoring of the toilets headed off any illegal activities.

In fact, the station boasts a lot more than that. Like a fully enclosed passenger waiting area, for example, with departure bays accessed by automatic doors. There's also a newsagent, a staffed information centre, there's even a cafe.

Receiving the SafeMark award has been described as a bit like getting a Michelin star, but just like the Michelin judges the 'mystery shoppers' will be back next year to check that Burnley has let its standards slip and that the £3m bus station warrants retaining its honour.

There are obviously a well-sorted lot in Lancashire, though, as Nelson and Chorley have also achieved the award in the past.

But perhaps its not that surprising given that the station’s architects, RoC Consulting, previously received a Bus Industry award for the station's design.