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Search the Public Notice PortalPlans to deliver a new railway station in rural Somerset remain "sat on a shelf" in Whitehall, Somerset Council has confirmed.
Proposals for a new railway station to serve the growing towns of Somerton and Langport received a significant setback in July 2024 when chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves MP cancelled the restoring your railway fund in late-July 2024.
The station was not included within Somerset Council's local transport delivery plan, which was approved in mid-March and contained numerous commitments to improving both Somerset's rail services and the existing stations' links to buses and active travel.
The Langport Transport Group, which created the outline business case for the new station, has now urged the council to press the government for a decision after years of needless delays.
The council said it remained committed to a new station in principle but could not commit any funding at this stage, adding that the decision was firmly in the hands of the Department for Transport (DfT).
Langport Transport Group chairman Phil Edge made his plea when the council's executive committee met in Taunton on Wednesday morning (April 1).
He said: "We support reconnecting 53,000 residents to rail.
"Serving the towns of Somerton and Langport, along with the surrounding area, a new station will stand on the existing Great Western mainline between London Paddington and Penzance.
"Somerset County Council was our strategic statutory partner in 2021 in bidding successfully for £50,000 from the re-opening your railway fund, acting as the responsible budget holder.
"Disadvantaged communities across the scheme’s catchment - almost ten per cent of Somerset’s population - will benefit, including communities in Curry Rivel, Glastonbury and Street.
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"During 2023/24, Somerset’s total station passengers reached 3,348,000 – increasing by 170,000 from 2022/23, and up nearly 600,000 from 2013/14.
"The business case forecasts 230,000 journeys annually from a Somerton station, of which two thirds would be ‘new to rail.
"It would take 11 minutes to reach Taunton, compared with 50 minutes or more by road. The environmental, economic, educational and social benefits are myriad, with the rail network as a gateway to opportunity for the next generation."
The council's planning department is currently considering plans for 150 homes on Foxglove Road in Somerton, north of the proposed Somerton railway station site identified within the business case.
The proposed Langport station site lies east of the A372 Wincanton Road in the adjoining village of Huish Episcopi Academy, near the local cricket club and secondary school.
Mr Edge concluded: "Bearing all this in mind, and given Somerset Council's stated priorities on connectivity and sustainable growth, why has the Somerton and Langport station re-opening, which is backed by a positive business case and strong local and parliamentary support, been omitted from the delivery plan?
"Will the executive now commit to formally including and supporting this project?"
The local transport deliver plan commits to delivering better interchanges between Somerset's existing railway stations and other forms of transport, including bus, walking and cycling.
The plan also commits to delivering a rural transport hub in Langport, as a complement to the £3.2m transport hub currently under construction in Taunton town centre.
Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and waste services, said the council could not commit further funding or other resources to the station project until the outline business case had been assessed.
Mr Wilkins (who represents the Curry Rivel and Langport division) said: "As you know, we’ve been very supportive - and it's worth noting that local MP Sarah Dyke has been extremely supportive too, bringing this up many times in parliament.
"It is also a priority of the Peninsula Transport sub-national transport body, on which the council sits.
"However, until the DfT approves the business case for this addition to the rail network, we are unfortunately unable to consider any capital financial contribution.
"Needless to say, we continue to lobby hard to get them to look at this business case, because it's been sat on the DfT's shelf far too long."
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