TOWN councillors were this week told they had a ‘prime opportunity’ to help deliver Wellington’s long-awaited new railway station.

Next year will be the 60th anniversary of the closure of the station under British Rail cuts which became known as ‘Beeching’s Axe’.

On Monday, the town council debated a planning application for 220 new homes which will effectively enable the £15 million station to be built on the stretch of main railway line running through the Longforth Farm estate.

West of England Developments (WoE) would build a station access road and set aside land for a car park as part of its proposals for the new estate, which would wrap around the town’s Lidl supermarket.

The plans also include commercial units with accommodation above.

Developer contributions from the housing estate were originally thought to be necessary to reach the £3.75 million share of the station costs which needed to be raised locally. However, WoE’s Chris Winter said Somerset Council was now pursuing other funding routes to realise the whole of the cost.

Mr Winter said WoE would instead consider contributions to any other local infrastructure which councillors suggested. He said a planning application for the station itself and a 75-space car park would come later from Network Rail, which was the organisation responsible for it.

Great Western Railway head of strategic service development Matt Barnes told councillors the housing development was a ‘fundamental part’ of the railway station project.

He said: “Without this development, the railway station would not be viable.”

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