MANCHESTER'S run-down Chorlton Street bus station will get a £3 million makeover in time for the Commonwealth Games.

Bosses at National Express agreed to a multi-million pound transformation of the site, which has been branded "shameful" and "a blot on the landscape" by councillors and passengers. The bleak concrete concourse will be transformed into a light, bright, glass structure.

The National Express announcement comes after a Manchester Evening News campaign to have the tatty bus station improved in time for the 2002 Games. Local politicians today praised our campaign for spotlighting the issue and keeping the pressure on the company which leases the site from the city council.

Thousands of people will arrive in Manchester to watch the Games in two years time, with millions more following the event on television. While massive investment has changed the face of the city centre, Chorlton Street has remained untouched.

Officials at National Express are putting the finishing touches to detailed plans - which will include new cafe facilities, toilets and waiting and booking areas - and will submit them to the city council in October. The company hope to start work next April and complete the project in around 12 months.

City centre supremo Coun Pat Karney said: "A big thank you must go to the Manchester Evening News and its readers, who have kept the pressure on National Express for a refurbished station." Passengers are expected to use Lever Street while work is carried out.

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