PLANS to create a community bus station moved a step closer at Salisbury City Council’s meeting on Monday night.

The city council has registered its interest with Wiltshire Council as a potential buyer for the Salisbury bus station and now has six months to put together a bid.

The first step is to appoint a specialist transport consultant to carry out a pre-feasibility study to identify if the project is worth further, more detailed, investigation or if it is simply not achievable.

The policy and resources committee agreed to waive a standing order so the council doesn’t have to advertise for interested transport consultants and go to tender, as the time frame is so limited.

The council’s bus station working group has identified a company, Parose Projects, which has undertaken transport projects in the region and are willing to undertake the pre-feasibility study.

Salisbury’s bus station closed on January 4 because Wilts & Dorset said the site was no longer viable, but the city council believe it is a valuable service for the community and want to explore the possibility of opening it as a community bus station.

The council has £10,000 within the approved capital budget to fund the pre-feasibility study but it has also applied for a grant through the Social Investment Business group to fund the initial study and will find out within four weeks if it has been successful.

If the study suggests it is worth looking at in more detail the council would apply for further grants up to £100,000 to fund a full feasibility study.