Funding of £10m allocated for Redditch railway station

The construction of a new station building has been proposed

Funding worth £10m is to be allocated towards a new railway station in Worcestershire.

The existing Redditch station will be replaced as part of the plan, in a move designed to make the town more attractive to visitors.

It would see a new two-storey building, with cycle storage, and a crossing to Redditch bus station.

A planning application is expected to be submitted in 2023-24, the county council said.

At a meeting on Thursday, the council's cabinet also rubber-stamped proposals to consult local residents over plans to demolish the town library and replace it with a public square, cafes and office space.

A new library would be established inside the town hall in a move expected to total almost £10m.

To fund the plans, the Community House Redditch community centre is expected to be sold by the borough council, along with land at Far Moor Road and in Webheath.

Both the county council and borough council are controlled by the Conservatives.

Joe Baker, leader of the Labour group on Redditch Borough Council, questioned the selling-off of community assets and said if his party took control next year, the library would "stay where it is".

"There's loads of empty office space and empty shop spaces, so to build more doesn't make financial sense," he said.

Conservative leader of the borough council Matt Dormer said the move would be worth it, despite selling off community assets, adding it would "improve people's outcomes".

"You can't put a price on that. So this is about maximising and rationalising our assets that we have all around the town," he said.

He added the five charities currently in Community House would be be found new homes.

"The challenge is getting the massive footfall that the Kingfisher [shopping centre] draws in to come outside and venture out on to our Church Green," he said.

"It's about improving the flow of people and maximising their spend within our town."