Stroudwater: Stonehouse station decision 'due by end of 2023'

Stroudwater station's reopening would give passengers faster and easier access to Bristol and Birmingham, campaigners have said

A decision on an £18m bid to revive a railway station that has been shut for nearly 60 years will be made by the end of the year, the government says.

Campaigners have waited for a year after lodging a Strategic Outline Business Case to the Department for Transport (DfT) in September 2022.

If it is successful, the Stroudwater station in Stonehouse would be financed from the "Restoring Your Railway" fund.

The bid is backed by Stroud's Tory MP and the Green-led District council.

Labour's parliamentary candidate has also endorsed the plan, which would provide a second direct link to Bristol from Stroud District.

The station on Bristol Road was closed as part of the Beeching cuts, which began in 1963.

'Top priority'

A decision on whether the bid reaches the next round, where campaigners will submit a business case, will be made by the end of the year, the DfT has confirmed.

Campaigners have been lobbying to re-open the station, on the Gloucester-to-Bristol line, for 20 years.

Residents of Stroud currently have to go to Gloucester or Swindon to get a train to Bristol.

Conservative MP for Stroud Siobhan Baillie has made reopening the station a top priority.

Labour parliamentary candidate for Stroud Dr Simon Opher with Stonehouse mayor Carol Kambites both back the bid

"Right now, I am chasing the Department for Transport for an update on our Strategic Outline Business Case," Ms Baillie said.

And Labour's parliamentary candidate for the Stroud seat, Dr Simon Opher, also supports the bid.

"I think what we need to do locally is to have a really well integrated local transport system so we can get local people out of their cars and onto the railways," he said.

Stonehouse Town Council's mayor Carol Kambites is part of the campaign group and helped develop the bid.

"We have the full support of Stroud District Council, [but] Gloucestershire County Council is not convinced," she said.

The station master's house is still at the station, despite the closure in 1965

Catherine Braun, district council leader, said reopening the station would "make journeys to Bristol and Birmingham quicker and easier".

"It will contribute to a huge reduction in carbon emissions, in line with our 2030 carbon neutral strategy," she added.

A county council spokesperson said the authority was "committed to working with the rail industry to look at the potential for a new station south of Gloucester".

"Given the limited capacity on the railway line to accommodate new stations between Gloucester and Bristol, without infrastructure upgrades in the Gloucester area, we need to ensure that a new station would help facilitate long term sustainable strategic development," they added.