Plans for Wellington’s new railway station have been approved by the Government.
The full schedule is yet to be confirmed but would could potentially begin next year in the Longforth Farm site with a view to the station opening in 2025.
The go-ahead has been welcomed by local MP, Rebecca Pow, who said: “I am absolutely thrilled with the news!
“This is what we have all been working on for many years and to receive this news is tremendous not just for the local people of Wellington, but it will bring much needed prosperity to the area through this extra connectivity.
“It will benefit businesses, their employees and especially the many people accessing educational establishments up and down the line, not to mention improving congestion on the roads and reducing pollution.”
She added: “This announcement means that what started as a dream has now become a reality, thanks in particular to a Government prioritising opening new rail stations in the right places.
”I have been pleased to chair the Metro Rail Committee comprising of all the relevant stakeholders and to be the strong voice in Westminster putting our case at every opportunity.”
The Rail Minister, Huw Merriman, added: “Connecting Wellington to Somerset’s railway network is a major step forward for the area.
“Fast trains to London and Exeter open up great opportunities for the local area and I’m looking forward to seeing spades in the ground.
“I’d like to pay tribute to Rebecca Pow for her tenacity and efforts to secure the new station, including engaging with local people in the town.”
Gideon Amos, the Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Taunton and Wellington, has also welcomed the news.
“Getting a station for Wellington has been a cross party team effort, he said.
“I very much hope the Conservative government will confirm its support for the station bid first raised in Parliament by the previous LibDem MP Jeremy Browne in 2014, and set in train by LibDem district councillors who began funding for the the project in 2019, alongside Wellington Town Council.”
PHOTO: Stakeholders in the station project are pictured in on the site.
Actually it was Mark Formosa that started the ball rolling on a station for Wellington. He may not have become our MP but this is definitely so.
Same old same old for Rebecca Pow, claims to have had a hand in ANYTHING that is deemed to be successful, then stays silent for anything that doesn’t work out!