Railway station's £12m upgrade plans at risk

A Worcestershire County Council report says the cost of plans to improve Redditch railway station had risen

A plan for a £12m upgrade of Redditch railway station in Worcestershire is at risk, as the county council looks to reduce its financial borrowing.

The news comes after a decision to scrap a £1m project to improve accessibility at Rushwick, Droitwich, Bromsgrove, Pershore and Alvechurch stations, along with confirming a £1.485m upgrade to the frontage at Shrub Hill station will not go ahead.

Cabinet papers recommend replacing the Redditch scheme with a £1m plan to improve station access using government funding.

Cabinet members will discuss the plans as part of an update on council finances on 25 September – but the changes need to be signed-off by full council in November.

Other changes include changing how a new walking and cycling bridge in Evesham will be funded.

The suggestion is that "£6m of borrowing will now be replaced with £6m from within the Local Transport Grant from the Department for Transport (DfT)".

It adds that does not change the details of the scheme, just how it is funded.

The council is also looking at cutting another £2.5m in borrowing by reducing spending on housing.

The authority states maintaining the current condition of the roads had assumed continued levels of DfT funding, as well as extra borrowing, but recognises cutting investment would have an impact.

New school scrapped

Education could also be affected – cabinet papers show spending on improving accessibility for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools could be cut to save £1m of borrowing.

A further £1m earmarked for post-16 additional specialist provision has also been identified as a potential saving, but the council says both projects can be achieved "within the reduced budget".

A £209m capital programme was approved in February under the council's former Conservative administration.

But its current Reform leadership wants to reduce capital spending and has already scrapped plans to build a new school in Worcester.