15 Jun Town Council Welcomes Positive Progress on Railway Station
At its meeting on June 7 the Town Council received an update on the progress being made on the proposals for a new railway station for Wellington.
The meeting was told that the Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC), which the Town Council had contributed towards the cost of, had been submitted to the Department for Transport for consideration and that the conclusion of the SOBC was that ‘the revenue impact outweighs the cost of the scheme and therefore indicates a high and financially positive Value for Money scheme’. Given the continuing growth of Wellington the station is needed to relieve additional pressure on the existing transport network and in particular the Strategic Road Network (M5). Rail connectivity will be required to limit carbon emissions, minimise the impact of future developments on the road network and improve accessibility to households without cars.
A proposed site for the station has been identified close to the Longforth Farm development adjacent to land that is identified for development in the Local Plan.
An announcement is expected from the Department for Transport soon on further funding to assist in progressing the scheme to the next stage. Given the strength of the SOBC it is hoped that the response will be positive. If all goes to plan, the timetable set out in the SOBC indicates that the station will be in place and services commencing in May 2025.
Mark Lithgow, Mayor, said ‘this is really positive news for the town. The Town Council is fully supportive of the project and looks forward to working with SWAT and other partners to continue to move it forward and deliver it. It is an essential part of our growing towns transport infrastructure that will bring huge benefits to our residents and attract businesses and employment to the town.’
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