Worcestershire County Council has issued Compulsory Purchase Order proceedings to obtain land for the proposed £22 million Worcestershire Parkway station.
Some £7.5m of the cost is set to come from the Government’s Local Growth Fund via the Local Enterprise Partnership, but the council needs to raise the balance through borrowings. According to local media reports, it is unable to reach agreement with a local landowner and developer.
The CPO papers say that in its submission, the council argues that the only realistic means of delivering the station is to take over the land, and that there is "“no evidence to demonstrate a viable and deliverable alternative”.
While the CPO could go to the High Court and even to Appeal, WCC hopes the station will open next year. “The programme for the design and construction of Worcestershire Parkway takes into account the assumed timescales for completion of the CPO process,” it said.
When it granted itself planning permission last August, the council said construction would start this spring with the opening in autumn 2017. The council will repay the borrowing through car park and station access charges levied on the train operators (RAIL 749, 783). The new facility will be located at Norton, with two platforms on the Birmingham-Bristol line and one on the Oxford-Worcester line.
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Andrewjgwilt1989 - 12/02/2016 12:30
Apparently it could of being named as Norton Parkway Railway Station or Worcester Parkway Railway Station as the 2 lines (Cotswolds Line and Cross-Country Route meet) and the new railway station is close to the M5 Motorway (off Junction 7) and is southeast of Worcester City Centre. Plus the new railway station will also serve other villages including Brockhill Village, Whittington and Littleworth which are just Southeast of Worcester.
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Andrewjgwilt1989 - 12/02/2016 12:32
Aswell Norton.
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Graham - 27/05/2016 11:16
The planning inspectorate hearings are finishing in Worcs County Hall today 27 May after four days. Not a dickybird in the Worcester News which is just strange. This is a highly controversial issue with a local property developer saying they can build the station instead. Hopefully the new CPO powers in the Infrastructure Bill will help the County Council see this scheme through to fruition. And hopefully Rail Mag will cover this issue!
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