Delays 'risk derailing station improvement work'

Local officials met with former Transport Secretary Mark Harper in 2023 to discuss plans for Kidsgrove Railway Station

A council leader has called for "urgent action" to ensure plans to improve a local train station are not derailed.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council leader Simon Tagg said funding had been secured for a scheme, which included parking for 200 cars and a new transport interchange, to better connect services at Kidsgrove Railway Station.

However, he said Network Rail was blocking work to investigate the extent of subsidence in the area following decades of coal mining nearby.

Network Rail has been contacted for a comment.

It is understood funding for the project will lapse in March 2027.

Tagg said bosses at Network Rail - which owns and manages most of the railway infrastructure in Great Britain - had demanded a fully-funded restoration plan prior to granting permission for the work.

He said he felt this was unrealistic as Kidsgrove Town Deal Board, which is overseeing the scheme, would not be able to predict costings until the work had begun.

The town board only had a fixed budget to work with, he added.

He said funding for the Kidsgrove station upgrade was announced in October 2023 following the cancellation of the northern section of HS2.

It is believed the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been monitoring the situation, and is in discussion with both Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Network Rail.

The BBC understands the government department expects decisions relating to the project to be handled by the borough council and Kidsgrove Town Deal Board.

'Frustrating delay'

Mr Tagg said he had written to local MP David Williams, urging him to ensure funding was still in place, but had not received a response.

Mr Williams did not respond to the BBC's request for a comment.

"This delay is frustrating because not only do we risk losing funding for a much-needed project, but town deal money has been used successfully elsewhere in Kidsgrove," Mr Tagg said.

"The train station upgrade is an important part of Kidsgrove's regeneration and we need a resolution," he added.