BUSINESSMAN Ben Fox thinks Wellington should have a new railway station – or halt as it is being called – and said he felt ‘exasperated’ townsfolk were not being more positive about it.

Mr Fox, who lives in Wellesley Park and owns large venue hire business the Big House Company, was responding to comments county, district and town councillor Andrew Govier made in the WWN last week.

Mr Govier said Swallowfield would need to relocate, that it would be difficult to get train companies to stop at Wellington and that it would be difficult for people to commute between Wellington and Taunton using a train service.

Mr Fox said: “I respect Andrew’s viewpoint but I think it’s half the story. I think when you talk with people in Wellington about it there’s a certain apathy – even though most people want it, they’re fed up with just talk. I think once the station’s there people in Wellington will use it.”

Mr Fox added that it was key that it was a metro stop/halt being proposed rather than a mainline station, which had been off the agenda for some time. “Who is to say that, one day, a main line stop does become necessary/feasible – but we have to start somewhere.”

He said passengers were used to changing trains and he did not think it could be said people would not do so. “I think a small hopper train runs between Exeter and Cardiff and I think there’s a little stop on the Exmouth-Exeter line,” he added.

“These little hop-on, hop off services are becoming much more common.” Hopper trains were ideal for taking a bike, as he does when he goes to Budleigh Salterton or Exmouth.

Taunton Deane Borough Council’s willingness to spend £40,000 on a feasibility study into a station was a red herring, Mr Fox said – £3 million was being spent on Taunton station, which did not need much of an upgrade.

Swallowfield would have to move to a more convenient out of town position but it wanted to do so. It has a large swathe of land and some of it could be used for housing, which would enable it to move, and some for parking for the new ‘halt’. He said: “Who knows, in ten to 20 years’ time there could be hundreds more homes in the Tonedale area of the town too and a station/halt would promote investment into Tonedale Mill and surrounding area.

“I also think more and more people are being health and environmentally conscious, so do walk or cycle to work or shops. Even the outer limits of the town are within 15-20 minutes of where a halt would be, so to say it is not central enough is a wrong. When our children were small, what a delight – and convenience – to have gone to Bristol or Exeter on a local train, for days out etc.”

Mr Fox said many of his clients come from London by train and he would encourage his customers to use a local station. “I am sure the likes of Relyon, Rigid Containers, Swallowfield and other businesses in Wellington would encourage their clients and staff who live outside the area to use public transport where they can,” he added.

Mr Fox said: “We need to invest money for the future. Wellington is growing and I think it will grow and grow. We need something to complement bus transport – operators will come and go according to whether they are making money or not, we do not want to be reliant on buses. Some commuters might use a service to get to Taunton, Bristol or Exeter, thus fewer cars clogging the roads even more. I am a cyclist too and cycling to Taunton now at busy times is horrendous – it is very easy to take a bike on a hopper-type service to help with onward journeys.

“I think we need the commuting choices and to have long-term transport sustainability. I think it would be great for Wellington – the town is going through something of a renaissance from where it was 50 years ago. I believe the plan is to have a Wellington and Cullompton halt at the same time – if Cullompton goes ahead and Wellington then does not, Wellington will be the loser in the long run.”

He added that the area’s last two or three MPs had said they wanted a station and done nothing concrete about it but that current MP Rebecca Pow seemed more positive if not very proactive.