Construction of new station building set to start four years after original was demolished

Construction of new station buildings at Wickford is set to start in 2025 after a four-year wait.

The old station building was demolished in 2021 so platform 1 could be extended for Class 720 units on the Southminster branch.

However, a replacement building, which will include a new ticket office, waiting room with charging points and seating, new toilets, customer information screens and shop, has still not been built, with temporary buildings still in situ.

GA has cited the COVID pandemic and wider funding challenges faced by the industry in the years since for the failure to build a replacement.

The operator has now signed a contract with Walker Construction to deliver the long-awaited upgrade. Timescales are now being finalised.

The announcement on February 28 came 15 days after Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford (Conservative), raised the issue with Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander.

On February 13 he told Alexander there had been nearly “three years of endless excuses, missed deadlines and broken promises”.

But after the operator’s announcement he struck a more supportive tone, saying reliability of services to the town had “improved markedly” thanks to the introduction of the Class 720s.

“Greater Anglia is confident enough for me to say that it expects work to begin on the site this summer and that the work will be completed by 2026 at the latest, though it is hopeful that it might be able to shave some time off that”, he said.

Francois said the previous Conservative government had committed the money for the new building shortly before last year’s General Election.

However, the new buildings at Wickford won’t contain a footbridge with lifts, although the plans make provision to allow for the future installation of lifts to get over the footbridge.

“A number of my constituents have contacted me to express their dismay that the proposed design does not include wheelchair-accessible facilities, such that people would still need to negotiate the old footbridge to reach the London-bound platforms,” Francois said in the House of Commons.

He said GA had previously applied for an Access for All grant but was unsuccessful.

Francois added: “While such facilities would clearly be desirable, especially for my disabled constituents, given all the previous delays to the project, the absolute priority must be getting the rebuild under way. If we could eventually achieve full disabled access, that would be the icing on the cake.”

Responding in Parliament, transport minister Simon Lightwood said the changes at Wickford were essential, but recognised the frustration over the amount of time taken to replace the station building.

On accessibility, he added: “The plans for Wickford station improvements also make provision to allow for the future installation of lifts; any future funding would, of course, be subject to the ongoing spending review.”

GA’s Managing Director, Martin Beable, said the operator was “glad to confirm the contract for the station upgrade” was now signed.