Worcestershire Parkway rail station given go ahead

The station in Norton will include up to 500 car parking spaces, disabled access and a taxi rank

Work can begin on a £22m rail station in Worcestershire after planning permission was granted.

The Worcestershire Parkway, near junction 7 of the M5 for Worcester, will join the Cotswolds and Birmingham to Bristol lines.

Construction of the station, near Norton, will now start in spring, the county council said.

The station, Worcester's third, is due to open to the first passengers in autumn 2017.

Work on the station, will have a single platform on the Cotswold Line and two on the Birmingham to Bristol Line, is being paid for by both the county council and the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Worcestershire County Council is expected to recoup its £14m investment through car park and station access charges levied on the train operators, the authority said. It should open in autumn 2017.

The station will be completed in autumn 2017, the county council said

The LEP will invest about £7.5m after a successful bid for the funds from central government's Local Growth Fund.

Planning permission was submitted in February for the station and its 500 car park spaces. There will be provision for people with disabilities, bus stops and a taxi rank.

The station, which will be Worcester's third, will have a single platform on the Cotswold Line and two on the Birmingham to Bristol Line.