Charfield railway station gets building permission

An illustration of what Charfield Station may look like.

South Gloucestershire Council has been given permission to build a new rail station.

The new station in Charfield will be built on land off Station Road, in the centre of the village.

The plans submitted by the council and Network Rail include a car park and highways improvements.

It will include two platforms serving journeys to Bristol and Gloucester, a pedestrian footbridge, a bus stop, covered cycle parking and car parking.

The development will reconnect the village to the rail network for the first time after almost 60 years.

The station was previously estimated to cost £22 million.

South Gloucestershire Council says the station will improve access to jobs, further and higher education and a wider variety of services and facilities.

The council say it will also help to mitigate some of the impacts of recent permitted developments in the area.

South Gloucestershire Council recently agreed a budget which included significant investment in sustainable travel.

A pre-application public consultation held in 2021 showed that 78 per cent of people who took part in the survey were supportive of the principle of reopening a station.

Designs for the new station also received support from 73% of people polled.

South Gloucestershire Council's cabinet member for transport, councillor Steve Reade said:

"This is an important milestone for a strategically significant transport project that will help with our commitment to creating sustainable communities and lowering our carbon emissions.

"A station in Charfield will make public transport a credible option for those living in the village and neighbouring communities, taking cars off our busy roads."

Now planning permission has been secured, work will progress on detailed designs for the station and highways improvements.

Once these are complete, a full business case and a request for funding will be submitted to the West of England Combined Authority.

A new project programme will be shared later in the year.

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