MP GIDEON Amos has stressed the benefits of the Wellington and Cullompton Station project on a recent visit to Parliament.

His comments came after the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, failed to include it when announcing £15 billion for transport projects across the country.

The project was thrown into doubt after the government scrapped the ‘Restoring Your Railway’ programme last summer.

Mr Amos and his fellow Liberal Democrat MP, Richard Foord, have been heading up calls for the scheme to be confirmed in next week’s Spending Review.

In the Commons on Wedneday, June 4, Mr Amos raised the issue with Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

He said: “The Chief Secretary will know that the benefits of the Cullompton and Wellington stations project would bring tens of thousands of people to the city, the metro region and the Cardiff-Bristol-Exeter corridor.

“Thanks to a cost-benefit ratio of almost 4:1, will he acknowledge the strength of the case for that project?”

Mr Jones replied: “I thank the Honourable Member for his campaigning and for welcoming today’s news of historic levels of investment into the west of England for transport.

“The best use of the money is to make sure that not only do we deliver infrastructure within our combined authorities, but that opportunities are unlocked for broader spending decisions on intercity transport, heavy rail, road investments, new house building and industrial policy spending.

“The review of the Green Book has been looking at this and further details will be published next week.

“However, I am confident that we will be able to unlock opportunities for areas outside the combined authorities, and the investment announced today makes a stronger case for doing so.”

The Chief Secretary also revealed that next week’s Speeding Review will be followed by “an infrastructure strategy which will be set out in more detail in the coming weeks”.