Worcestershire Parkway rail station plans submitted

The proposed station in Norton would include up to 500 car parking spaces

Plans for a new £22m rail station in Worcestershire have been submitted.

The proposed Worcestershire Parkway, near Junction 7 of the M5 for Worcester, would link the Cotswolds and Birmingham to Bristol lines.

Work on the ground was scheduled to begin by the spring of next year and the station was on track to open in summer 2017, the county council said.

It said a planning application had been submitted, with a decision anticipated during the summer.

Under the plans, the proposed station in Norton would include up to 500 car parking spaces, with provision for people with disabilities, bus stops and a taxi rank.

A single platform on the Cotswold Line and two platforms on the Birmingham to Bristol Line have been proposed.

Worcestershire County Council said central government last year provisionally allocated £7.5m from the Local Growth Fund towards a new station after a successful bid through the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership.

The rest of the funds, about £14m, were expected to come from the council, it said.