Labour MP David Lepper is calling for a new bus station to be built in the centre of town.

He said land next to Brighton Station would be ideal for the new transport interchange. Although Brighton has a long-established coach station in Pool Valley, it does not have a bus station.

Brighton and Hove Council has formed a working party to produce a planning brief for the ten-acre brownfield site. Mr Lepper said a transport interchange had been part of earlier, failed schemes for the area but it had not played a part in recent schemes.

The Brighton Pavilion MP said bus travel was booming in Brighton, yet there was no base for the vehicles. He said: "Many of them use Churchill Square as a turning point and this can cause congestion.This site would be good for a bus station as it is close to the railway station. It would encourage people to use public transport as they would be able to come straight out of the station and on to a bus."

Mr Lepper said he was pleased Brighton architects the RH Partnership had produced an alternative scheme to the one by the New England Consortium for the site. He said it was good to have a scheme without a supermarket and added: "I do hope the proposal has the financial sense its supporters are claiming for it."

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