Most of you probably know of the County Council's plan for a railway station, 'Stratford Parkway', to be built next to the existing park & ride site at Bishopton. The plans were displayed in Stratford Library from 4th to 6th March, but hardly any notice of this was given. Details on the consultation are available here and the proposals can be seen here While welcoming investment in public transport facilities, the committee is concerned that many who now use the existing town station will switch to the parkway station. The loss of passengers from the town station could eventually lead to it closing, leaving the town without a station. The County Council say this won't happen, but they can't give any guarantees - in practice it is the railway companies who will decide whether the town station continues to generate enough business to stay open. We believe that investment in new rail services and new routes is more important than an extra station, but we see no imaginative plans which might secure the viability of two stations. So we feel we cannot support the proposal. We invite members to be aware of the risk to Stratford's station and to send comments in to the County Council, District Council and individual councillors. As usual, they are imposing a short deadline and comments must be in by Friday 19th March.

 

WE URGE YOU TO COMMENT BY FRIDAY 19th MARCH PLEASE!

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