Newbury Racecourse Railway Station is to be revamped.
Improved waiting facilities and covered cycle parking along with a ticket vending machine, CCTV and improvements to the footbridge are all on their way to benefit passengers at this increasingly important station. This is thanks to a recent successful bid for funding made by West Berkshire Council.
Great Western Railway (GWR) has awarded £70,000 from their Customer & Communities Improvement Fund (CCIF). The bidding process saw an overwhelming 158 applications totalling over £4.4million for improvements right across the GWR network. With only £750k available in the fund, the Council’s bid was considered by GWR as ‘a great project’ and one that stood out from a strong field of bids.
The bid was supported by Thames Valley Berkshire’s Local Enterprise Partnership and David Wilson Homes (DWH) who are delivering the 1,500 home development at Newbury Racecourse. The recent funding will combine with £150k from DWH’s Travel Plan for the housing site, also allocated for improvements at the Racecourse station. The DWH funding was the local contribution that helped to achieve further investment and increase the pot available to £220k for the expanded package of improvements. Daniel Pavely, project manager for DWH said: “David Wilson Homes was keen to support this bid for funding and the successful outcome is welcomed. We look forward to these improvements taking place and benefiting residents as well as visitors to the Racecourse. To use our funding to attract even more is a great result and will help to boost our work through the Residential Travel Plan for our site.”
West Berkshire Council’s executive member for Highways & Transport said: “The news about this award is fantastic, especially given the strong competition for the funding available. Our bid won because of the well-established Racecourse housing development, electrification of the rail line, the successful employment area almost next door – and because the council put together a really powerful case, working with our partners. It’s a welcome and well-timed boost for Newbury Racecourse Station, serving ever more travellers and businesses. I am sure the improvements will be welcomed by people who already use the station – as well as encourage new travellers to choose rail.”
The delivery of the scheme will be managed by GWR.
Picture Credit: Geof Sheppard
