AN HISTORIC shelter in York will be restored with funding from the Department for Transport.

The shelter, outside York railway station, was used by passengers on York's electric tram services in 1909, which connected Acomb, Fulford, Haxby Road, South Bank, Hull Road and Dringhouses to the city centre.

The restoration of the half-timbered shelter is part of the Better Bus Area Fund (BBAF), using £20,000 of funds awarded to City of York Council by the DfT in 2012 for improving bus stops at the station, and will start this week.

The structure will be cleaned up, repainted and various fixtures and fittings such as lighting and guttering repaired and replaced. Display boards will also be put up in the shelter to give visitors a history of local transport in York while they wait for their bus.

Julian Ridge, Better Bus Area Fund programme manager at York council, said: “Even small parts of York’s heritage are important and we are glad to have the opportunity to renovate this structure.

"With about two million visitors arriving in York by rail each year, and a similar number of people catching buses from the station, the shelter is very visible and its renovation will contribute to a positive first impression for many visitors to York as they enter the city from the station”

Other improvements to bus stops at the station as part of the programme include real-time screens at all bus stops, replacing the glass in the canopy on the front of the station, cleaning and improving paving, replacing all bus stop flags and improving lighting at stops.

The funding will also go towards new, easier to read bus timetables, road resurfacing outside the station, and repainting all lines and markings, with work also expected at Rougier Street and Exhibition Square.

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