Southampton celebrates new bus hub and urban park at Albion Place and Arundel Gardens
To celebrate the formal opening of the Albion Place Bus Hub and Arundel Gardens, representatives from Southampton City Council, their partners and key stakeholders came together on Friday the 13 December to cut the ribbon and learn more about this transformational project
A photo of (from left to right) Richard Tyldsley, General Manager at Bluestar Bus Services, Councillor Eamonn Keogh, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, and Adam Twekesbury, Associate Director, Environment & Sustainability at University of Southampton, cutting the ribbon at Albion Place
Enabled by the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund (TCF), the council has been working with local residents on the five million pound project since 2021, with the initial consultation leading into further engagement with key stakeholders, businesses, and residents through the development of the design to its final iteration.
In January 2024, works began to implement the new bus hub and urban park following restoration works to the castle bailey wall delivered as part of the Heritage Asset Repair Programme. During those first months, significant archaeological finds were uncovered including the foundations of Southampton’s first Synagogue, built in 1864, and flints and pottery dating back 9,000 years.
Together with the bus-, taxi-, and cycle-only restriction on Portland Terrace, the bus hub will significantly improve public transport into the city centre, including new waiting facilities, seating, lighting and CCTV and real time travel information all using high quality materials to enhance its heritage setting.
In February 2024, with support from the Southern Daily Echo, a poll was conducted on a name for the new park and 77% of people who responded voted for Arundel Gardens, referencing the historic significance of the nearby Arundel Tower, standing guard at the corner of the town walls, and overlooking Westquay.
The installation of a modern urban park has provided a new green space in the Old Town that, together with Albion Place, has been landscaped with nine new trees, over 2,000 new plants and over 800 square meters of new turf. The completed works preserve and enhance the setting of our historic city walls and paired with new seating, allow people to sit and enjoy the views of Southampton’s outstanding heritage.
Speaking at the opening, Councillor Sarah Bogle, Ward Member for Bargate Ward said:
“I am really proud to see this come to fruition and very grateful to residents for their patience and their enthusiasm for the finished scheme. It is a much nicer environment for everyone that lives here as well as bus passengers, it is simply transformative and really showcases our beautiful heritage.”
Richard Tyldsley, General Manager at Bluestar Bus Services said:
“The scheme is transformative for everyone. For Bluestar reliability has improved, it is much better for passengers, the bus shelter living roofs, which are becoming common in Southampton, help the environment, our drivers like it and we’ve had very positive comments from the public. Hopefully there will be more in the pipeline.”
Adam Tewkesbury, Associate Director, Environment & Sustainability at University of Southampton, said:
“Unilink is growing passenger numbers, routes and buses and it is really encouraging to see this level of investment in the city’s public transport.”
Councillor Eamonn Keogh, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport at Southampton City Council said:
“I am so pleased with Albion Place and Arundel Gardens, this is a really proud day for everyone involved in reimagining this space, the whole atmosphere of the area has been transformed.
“This excellent project has been a real collaboration between the council’s transport and open spaces teams, Balfour Beatty, Schofield Groundworks, our bus operators and local people. Thank you to everyone involved in bringing this beautiful space together.”
