Ghosts of old industry could derail plans to improve station
An MP fears a flagship scheme to improve facilities at Kidsgrove Station could be derailed due to hidden mining works.
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council[1] was awarded £3.85m to provide a new car park, station forecourt and extended station building as part of the government’s Town Deal Fund.
But now MP Jonathan Gullis says additional money is required after the unexpected discovery of mining shafts which haven’t been stabilised.
The Coal Authority stipulates that any future building on the site will require mine shaft stabilisation underground.
A similar requirement was also responsible for issues with a previous project at Kidsgrove[2] Station, which meant a new footbridge was delayed until the site had been made safe.
READ: Bus timetable screens ‘nowhere near bus stops’ branded ‘stupid’[3]
Mr Gullis says not all of the mining works were fully dealt with at the time, which will put a major part of the current project at risk.
He said: “I’m making the point to Network Rail that any work that needs to be done, they need to do.
“Ultimately they’re going to have to do it if they want this station to last longer term – and it’s them who will pick up the tab, so we can invest taxpayers’ Town Deal funding to make this station great.
“That will be a big win, I just need Network Rail to put that in writing and we can get cracking with the project.
“We’ve got a fantastic Town Deal project to redevelop the station – improve the way it looks, improve the internal function of the building, a better community cafe and a better space for the Friends of Kidsgrove Railway Station as well as adding a 200-space car park.
“We know we’re getting a 250,000 users a year at this station, and that seems to be growing. It’s one of the fastest stations to recover post-pandemic.
“I think this is so important as a project.”
Transport secretary Mark Harper visited the station recently, and said he was aware of the issue.
Mr Harper said: “The key message here is there’s not a lack of will. There are some practical issues in delivering this about some of the mine remediation works.
“It’s a partnership – just like with the Access For All, which also got held up by mine remediation work.
“We’ve got to make sure we deliver the car parking spaces and all of the other development that then becomes possible.”
Mr Gullis believes the secretary of state’s visit may hold the key to convincing Network Rail to invest in the work that’s needed.
He said: “Now he’s been to visit firsthand, he’s had a copy of the plans and can see the ambition we have here, what I’m hoping he’ll do is get Network Rail[4] to come back with what the costings look like.
“The last thing I want is for the [Town Deal] money to be at risk, the last thing anyone wants is to see money returned to Westminster when it should be delivered in places like Kidsgrove.
“This station needs investment, it’s a gateway to our community and it needs to be improved.”
He said Kidsgrove Town Board were currently discussing back-up plans in case they’re not able to continue with the existing scheme.
Network Rail said it is sharing its expertise and will continue to work with other organisations to improve Kidsgrove Station.
A spokesperson said: “During our work to build new lifts to make Kidsgrove station accessible for all, the multi-million-pound project was hampered by the poor underground conditions caused by unmapped historic mine workings.
“Having overcome those challenges, we are offering our knowledge and expertise on what lies beneath the station for a separate council-led scheme to build a new car park and expansion of the station facilities on the site.
“We’ll continue to work with station operator East Midlands Railway and Newcastle Under Lyme Borough Council on their future plans to make Kidsgrove station better for passengers.”
They said Network Rail does not have any funding available to assist with the work required to secure underground mine workings or further station upgrades.
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References
- ^ Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ Kidsgrove (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ Bus timetable screens ‘nowhere near bus stops’ branded ‘stupid’ (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ Network Rail (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
- ^ Sign up for email alerts from StokeonTrentLive direct to your inbox here (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)