The prospect of a rail station in Wellington has taken a big step towards becoming a reality.

I made this one of my commitments when I was first elected in 2015, and with stakeholders in the Devon and Somerset Metro group have been working consistently on this ever since.

In a really welcome step Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that Wellington is one of just ten projects nationally to be selected for the next phase of development.

The Rail Minister has subsequently confirmed to me that officials from the Department of Transport will be working on the details with our Metro Group – initially with the district council sub group – with the intention that, providing the case stacks up, this project will be escalated quickly once the case has been worked through.

A station at Wellington will improve access across the region, reduce congestion and improve air quality, connect communities and open up job opportunities which will be more important than ever as we come out of the Covid-19 crisis and I look forward to continuing to work on this much needed project.

Interestingly, another form of transport has come to the fore during the CV19 crisis, namely cycling. There’s been a big surge in cycling, whether as a form of exercise or as a means of socially distanced transport.

The Government has recently announced that as part of a £2 billion investment package, a £250 million emergency fund will create pop-up bike lanes with protected space for cycling, wider pavements, safer junctions and cycle and bus-only corridors within weeks.

Taunton in particular would benefit from linking up the existing cycle network and I’ve met with the Taunton Area Cycle Campaign to discuss this and am supporting Somerset County Council in its application for the emergency fund. I am meeting the Cycle Minister – virtually – to discuss this.

I also continue to work locally and with Government to help ease us into the next phase as lockdown begins to relax, with outdoor markets, car showrooms and the phased re-opening of nurseries and schools to begin next week, followed by all other non-essential retail. As ever please do get in touch if you need to.

REBECCA POW

Taunton Deane MP