Renewed calls to reopen railway station near Shrewsbury
A new railway station could be built in order to reconnect a rural village to the rail network – six decades after it was cut off.
Land has been set aside as part of a new housing development set to be built near the former station building in Baschurch, for a replacement to be constructed if and when the funds can be secured.
The disused station has been closed since the 1960s but calls have been mounting for it to reopen, with hundreds of people signing a petition earlier this year asking Shropshire Council to fund a new feasibility study.
It has been 14 years since the last feasibility study was carried out, with the council halting plans to commission a fresh one in 2011 after saying it could not commit the money.
The former station, now known as Station House, is privately owned and in residential use, meaning a new station would need to be built in order to get the village reinstated as a stop on the Shrewsbury-Chester line.
In a public question to the council’s cabinet, local campaigner Robert Jones, who started the petition back in March, said reconnecting the village to the rail network would bring a number of benefits.
He said it would support the council’s climate change aspirations and provide residents with easier access to nearby services, employment and education opportunities.
Mr Jones also said the number of new homes which have been built in Baschurch and future growth targets were further justification for investing in the village’s infrastructure, which he said was being placed under extreme pressure.
“All candidates in Ruyton and Baschurch division in the unitary election on May 6, including myself and Councillor Nick Bardsley, supported reopening Baschurch station,” he added.
“Given the potential of the railway station at Baschurch to reduce traffic congestion and pollution in the villages to the north of Shrewsbury, while combatting climate change and providing material economic and social benefits to local residents in the area, will Shropshire Council support, and take action to carry out, a full feasibility study into the opening of a new railway station in Baschurch?”
Councillor Cecilia Motley, portfolio holder for transport, said future rail connectivity requirements would be considered as part of the council’s new Local Transport Plan (LTP), which is currently being developed.
She said: “Part of the process will be to identify short, medium and long-term intentions that will support the overall vision and objectives of the plan.
“Rather than pre-judge where the greatest benefits may come and potentially undermine any business case which could integrate with a broader and holistic transport strategy, the council will await the outcomes of the LTP.”
Councillor Nick Bardsley, who represents Ruyton and Baschurch, said the ambitions for reopening the station had been taken into consideration in the plans for a new housing development on the Shropshire Stone and Granite Yard.
The site is bound to the east by the railway line and lies near Station House.
Councillor Bardsley said: “Baschurch Parish Council, the previous owners of the site and myself have been working collaboratively with the housing developer, Shingler Homes, over many months to make sure that the layout of the housing development allows for the reopening – or more likely the building of a new railway station at Baschurch.
“The recent planning application, which was approved in the middle of last month, is now moving towards the construction phase and it’s probable that a new station will be built to the south-east of the former station, by about 100 metres or so.”
Councillor Bardsley said a footbridge would also be required along with car parking.
The land in question is marked as public open space in the approved plans, and is intended to act as a buffer between the homes and the railway line.
“The long-term plan – provided that alternative open space is provided of course – is that this could be re-designated as land for the new railway station,” said Councillor Bardsley.
“The strategy is to make sure that the new housing development in no way impedes the future development.
“That makes no assumptions about money for a new station, but what it does do is make sure that if that money is available, when it’s available, there is land there.
“Shingler Homes are well aware of it, and obviously there will have to be further engagement with them, but it’s there and it’s earmarked for the new station.”
