Chatham Pentagon bus station

"Pentagon bus station" redirects here. For the bus interchange at the U.S. pentagon, see Pentagon station § Bus service.

Pentagon Bus Station
General information
Location	Pentagon Shopping Centre, Chatham, Kent United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°23′02″N0°31′32″E / 51.38380°N 0.52559°E / 51.38380; 0.52559
Owned by	Medway Council
History
Opened	16 October 1970 [1]
Closed	10 October 2011
Location

Arriva Medway Towns Alexander ALX400 bodied Volvo B7TL within Pentagon bus station in 2010 when the station was still active.

Pentagon Bus Station was the main bus interchange in Chatham, Kent, South East England. The Pentagon Bus Station opened on 16 October 1970 and was an integral part of the Pentagon Shopping Centre when it opened on 30 June 1975. Before its phased closure on the 30 September 2011 until 10 October 2011, 80% of local services started, terminated or passed through the centre. ^[2]

As part of the redevelopment plans for Central Chatham, the Pentagon Bus Station was replaced in October 2011 ^{[3] [4]} by the Chatham Waterfront bus station on Globe Lane, adjacent to Military Rd. Space previously used by the bus station will be used to expand the Pentagon Shopping Centre. ^[5] The new bus shelters have been designed to have living roofs (mainly sedums). ^[6]

The Pentagon Bus Station was arranged as a two-lane, one-way, ring road around the outside of the Pentagon Shopping Centre at the upper level. It had 18 bays, all on the inside of the road around the irregular 5 sided building. Bus access came from street level (The Brook) via one street level ramp and could exit via the same or a second ramp as appropriate.

In order to move the Pentagon Bus Station from the Pentagon Shopping Centre, Medway Council had to purchase the lease for the site back off Arriva Southern Counties, which was due to hold the lease until 2018. ^[7] Arriva held the right to use the site as it had taken over Maidstone & District Motor Services, the previous incumbent. Access to the station by other operators has been a cause of historical controversy. The issue was placed within the scope of a 1993 Competition Commission inquiry into The supply of bus services in Mid and West Kent. ^[8] As a result of the inquiry, M&D were required to undertake to provide equal access at reasonable rates and conditions.

In October 2013, Medway Council planned to turn the disused Pentagon Bus Station into a car park for its employees ^[9] but as of 2015 all entrances have been fenced off.

In March 2022, As part of the redevelopment of Mountbatten House and the surrounding area, the street level (The Brook) entrance and exit ramps to the bus station were removed. ^[10]

See also

• Arriva Southern Counties
• Pentagon Shopping Centre
• Chatham Waterfront bus station

References

1. "Chatham bus station opens in 'wrong place'". BBC News. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
2. "The Guide, Summer 2011" (PDF). Pentagon shopping centre. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
3. "Chatham bus station plan gets go ahead". thisiskent. Archived from the original on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
4. "Chatham Waterfront Bus Station". Medway Council. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
5. "Pentagon Centre Brief". Medway Council. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
6. "Dynamic Bus Facility". Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
7. "Medway Council row over Chatham bus station lease". BBC News. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
8. The supply of bus services in Mid and West Kent Archived 23 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
9. "Pentagnon Bus Station image". Flickr. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
10. "Construction firms to be sought for landmark building revamp". Kent Online. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2025.

• Gardner, Nicky (October 2011). Bus-Pass Britain. Bradt Travel Guides. p. Island Odyssey: The Isle of Grain - 14. ISBN   9781841623764 . Retrieved 2 February 2016.
• Preston, John; Lawton Smith, Helen; Nicholas Martin Starkie, David (2000). Integrated transport policy: implications for regulation and competition. Ashgate. p. 236. ISBN   9780754613701 . Retrieved 2 February 2016.
• Great Britain. Office of Fair Trading (1992). Annual Report of the Director General of Fair Trading ... to the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 30. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
• The Estates Gazette, Volume 247, Part 1. 1978. p. 241. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
• Municipal Journal, Public Works Engineer Contractor's Guide, Volume 74. the University of Michigan. 1966. Retrieved 2 February 2016.

External links

Media related to Chatham Pentagon Bus Station at Wikimedia Commons