CONSTRUCTION work on the road to Wellington’s new railway station may not begin until Christmas, the developer has warned.

Following the conclusion of the government’s spending review, the Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed in early-July that it would be providing the funding - estimated to cost up to £50 million - to deliver new railway stations in Wellington and Cullompton, along with other transport projects in Somerset.

The announcement followed 12 months of local campaigning after Ms Reeves scrapped the previous Conservative Government’s ‘Restoring Your Railways’ fund - with £15 million previously secured - from which the Wellington station would have been financed. Initial plans hoped to see the station up and running by June 2026.

West of England Developments (Taunton) Ltd. secured outline planning permission in May 2024 for a development of 200 homes on Nynehead Road in Wellington, including the spine road to unlock the new station site.

The West Buckland-based developer subsequently secured more detailed permission in March for both the spine road and the ‘station square’ which will greet rail passengers – with managing director Chris Winter stating in early-May that he intended to begin building the road in September.

But this has now been pushed back until the end of the year – leaving a race against time to ensure the road is completed by the current deadline of September 2026.

Mr Winter said: “We expect the start date for the spine road and infrastructure to go back to the end of the year, with a completion of these works by the end of September 2026.

“We are awaiting final highway and drainage design and approval, and ecology licences necessary to remove sections of hedges for the spine road.

“This has all taken longer than expected.”

The original Section 106 agreement between the developer and the council stated that work on the spine road had to begin by June 5 and conclude by April 1, 2026.

The developer applied in February to amend this part of the agreement to allow the start date to be pushed back – but no decision on this application has yet been made.

Somerset Council said it would do everything in its power to ensure that the road was delivered in a timely fashion to prevent any further delays in the construction of the station.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We don’t have a start date for the road yet.

“Reserved matters planning consent is in place for the spine road and station square, pending the discharge of conditions.

“There is a legal obligation on the developer to deliver the spine road and this is required by the end of September 2026.

“We are working with them to ensure this happens.”

The actual station and car park will be delivered by Network Rail, which is expected to submit a separate planning application before the end of the year.

The local MP for Taunton and Wellington, Gideon Amos says he will be attending a Metro Board meeting this week where a group “will be discussing all aspects of the station development."