WORK to improve Middlesbrough Bus Station for travellers – including fully revamped toilet facilities – is now complete.
The new loos are cleaner, safer and more environmentally friendly while the station has also been brightened up with artwork.
The walls of the upstairs departure lounge are now adorned with pictures by local artists Eammon McGovern and Sean Durkin, who as well as being talents in their own right both have noteworthy family members.
Eamonn is the dad of BBC Breakfast presenter Steph McGovern, while Sean is the son of John Durkin who in 1972 stole a painting by LS Lowry of St Hilda’s Church and Middlesbrough’s Old Town Hall, holding it to ransom while asking for local galleries to open on Sundays to allow access for working people.
Copies of the Lovemiddlesbrough magazine have also been made available to travellers.
Downstairs the men’s and women’s, disabled access toilets and baby changing all use energy saving lighting and non-touch flushing systems while CCTV is also in operation to prevent anti-social behaviour.
Cllr Tracy Harvey, Executive Member for Environment, said: “I’m sure visitors will be very pleased to see the improvements made to the toilets.
“It is no secret that they were not the most pleasant of facilities and I can only praise the fantastic work carried out by the Council’s own building services team.
“I would also like to thank our fantastic artists for allowing us to display their pieces. Middlesbrough Bus Station is one of the busiest transport hubs in the region and so it is fantastic to be able to show off these locally inspired works to all those passing through the town.”
Proposals have been put forward as part of the Council’s budgetary processes that would see visitors charged 20p for using the toilets, however this has yet to be decided on and travellers using the bus station will be consulted on the idea.