THE case for Wellington’s new railway station has been put by local MP Rebecca Pow directly to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Ms Pow met personally with the Chancellor ahead of his Autumn Statement to discuss the Wellington rail proposal.

The opportunity came after a meeting of the Metro steering group which has been planning twin new stations for Wellington and Cullompton, in Devon.

The Metro group, which Ms Pow has co-chaired for the past seven years, was given progress reports by Network Rail and Great Western Railways.

Ms Pow said Somerset Council had now received a provisional planning application for housing and commercial units to facilitate the station which anticipated construction work beginning in June, 2024, pending sign-off by the Department for Transport (DfT) and by the Treasury.

She said the outline business case for the Wellington station was currently with the DfT, with work underway on the full business case to be submitted in December.

The design of the station was progressing and included brick and glass walkways and a footbridge, provision for 88 car parking spaces, electric vehicle charging spaces, 20 cycle stands, two bus stops, and a mobility hub

Work on environmental and ecology measures was also underway.

Ms Pow said: “I was delighted to secure a meeting with the Chancellor himself to make a strong case for the Wellington rail station.

“I stressed that this station will not only be useful for local people, but it will also bring much wider economic and employment benefits, especially enabling users to reach educational establishments up and down the line which are currently hard to reach.

“Securing this kind of infrastructure is a critical part of increasing productivity in the region to build on our connectivity and to help attract business.

“I will be following up this meeting by sending the latest update from our rail steering group together with a clear outline of the economic case.”