'We need bus services before new Leek rail link'

Leek needs better bus services before a new rail line, the council leader says

A better bus service is the priority for the Staffordshire Moorlands not a proposed new rail link, the council leader has said.

Labour's Mike Gledhill said reopening a line between Stoke-on-Trent and Leek would be wonderful but more buses were needed.

The rail line's reopening was mentioned by the government as a project which would benefit from funding.

The money would come from savings made by scrapping the Manchester HS2 link.

A government document said it would be down to local leaders to decide how to use the money.

Passenger services between Stoke-on-Trent and Leek stopped in 1965 and Leek's railway station closed in 1970. The building is now a supermarket.

Better bus services were the Staffordshire Moorland's immediate priority, Mr Gledhill, leader of the district council said.

"It would be wonderful if it (the line) happens, but it won't actually help people to get from Biddulph to Leek, or Leek to Cheadle and certainly won't help develop transport in the rural areas, which has been drastically cut in recent years."

Staffordshire Moorlands council leader Mike Gledhill wants more detail on the plans

More detail on funding and timescales would also be useful, he said.

"There is a bit of evidence recently of occasions when grand projects are announced, and then don't get delivered, because something's changed."

The Conservative MP for the Staffordshire Moorlands, Karen Bradley, said she was "absolutely delighted" the railway line could be reopened.

"This is great news for the whole Moorlands. I was honoured to chair the board that put the bid in and am thrilled that we have been successful," she added.

An outline case for reconnecting Leek to the rail network was developed by the district council and its partners and submitted to the government in 2022.