A bus station campaigner will go face-to-face with city leaders in his crusade to save the iconic landmark.
Campaigner John Wilson, who launched an online petition to debate the future of the iconic building in November, has secured 1,435 signatures to trigger a debate of the city’s council on February 2.
He needed 1,250 signatures from residents of the city to secure the debate and even had 400 signatures rejected because they were outside of the city’s boundaries.
Mr Wilson, 64, of Fulwood, said he will use his five-minute address to councillors to call on them to give local people the final say on the future of the building.
He said: “I feel I am representing every one of the people who has signed the petition and I believe they should be the ones who get the final say.
“I have called this petition a referendum on the future of the bus station and 80% of the people I have spoken with have said they believe it should be kept in use.
“2012 is an important year for Preston, it is our first Guild as a city and there will be thousands of people coming through the bus station.
“What are they going to think of it at the moment?”
He will tell councillors there is millions of pounds set aside for the doomed Tithebarn in funds for the redevelopment of the area and improvements to transport in Lancashire which should be spent on improvements to the building.
Speaking after hosting a ‘listening event’ on the bus station last week, council leader Peter Rankin said: “The bus station is obviously a building which divides opinion and we want to listen to all sides of the argument.”
A Preston Council spokesman confirmed Mr Wilson had secured the necessary amount of signatures to secure a debate and said it will take place at the next meeting of the council on Thursday, February 2.
Comments