Herefordshire Council committed to case for Pontrilas station reopening

The station is now used as holiday accommodation

Herefordshire Council is "committed to progressing the case" to reopen a railway station despite a councillor apparently dismissing the scheme.

Pontrilas station, on the Hereford-to-Abergavenny line, closed in 1958 after being used for almost a century.

At a meeting last week, the cabinet member for transport said it would be poor value for money and a financial risk for the council to reopen it.

But the authority now says it wants to bring together all interested parties.

In a statement the authority said a rebuilt station "would significantly improve the public transport infrastructure for the long term, benefitting not only the rural areas of the Golden Valley but the wider county and the region".

'Offers potential'

It said it was working with Hereford and South Herefordshire MP and transport minister Jesse Norman, and with local backers to lobby regional transport body Midlands Connect, the Department for Transport and Network Rail on the scheme.

"Pontrilas offers the potential to improve our transport infrastructure significantly now and in the long term and we are keen to explore the project further," Conservative leader of the council Jonathan Lester said.

Councillor Jonathan Lester said the station "offers the potential to improve our transport infrastructure significantly"

The statement comes after councillor Philip Price told last week's meeting he would be "unwilling to saddle the council" with the additional financial risk that building a new station would present.

"It is likely that the scheme will not create additional capacity but will simply transfer journeys from other stations or the bus network," he said.

But on his Facebook page after the meeting, Mr Norman said there was now "every intention for the cabinet member and officers to meet with me and other supporters to discuss the project in the near future".

"Now we need to bring everyone together, clarify exactly what is being proposed, build on the work already done - and make it happen," he said.

The Department for Transport said the station plan was among proposals put forward for its Restoring Your Railway Fund, but which in June last year were "not found to be suitable for RYR funding at this time".