Memories of Sunderland: The Bridges Bus Station

At the turn of the new millennium, The Bridges Shopping centre was expanded. This makeover created many new shops, a new car park and the space where Debenhams department store once stood.

Prior to this expansion, younger readers may not remember that there was once a bus station adjacent to the bridges, and that the pedestrian path to the Debenhams entrance was once a road. This area was formally known as “Sunderland Central Bus Station” which managed buses coming in and out of the city, before Park Lane was rebuilt and became the new “Central Bus Station”.

The bus station will be remembered by many Sunderland residents as a health hazard, particularly due to the fact it was an indoor bus station and was also poorly ventilated, meaning the air was thick of exhaust fumes.

When the decision was made to make a new Park Lane bus station, complete with a Metro Link, The Bridges bus station was subsequently closed down around the year 2000 and the land was redeveloped to expand the shopping centre. The area around it, leading off to Marine Terrace and Blandford Street, was Pedestrianised.

What are your memories of the Bus Station?