Car park pledge included in housing plans amid villagers' campaign for railway station
A housing developer has pledged to build a car park which would boost a village's chances of having a railway station for the first time since the 1960s.
Calls have been mounting for a station to return to Baschurch, near Shrewsbury, with hundreds of villagers packing into The Corbet School last month to show their support at a meeting.
An aspect that would significantly improve the chances of it happening is securing land for a car park.
Housing developer Shingler Homes have now submitted plans to build homes in the area, and have ring-fenced half and acre of land for a 60-vehicle car park which would be used for the railway station.
The developer wants to build 48 dwellings, including 10 affordable homes. The development would be made up of one, two, three and four-bedroom homes.
In the design and access statement, the firm said: "Following extensive dialogue with Baschurch Parish Council, a scheme was designed which would help the community to deliver on its objectives for the village. The reopening of the railway station is fully dependent on the availability of adequate, nearby car-parking. As such, over half an acre of developable land has been set aside from the Phase 2 scheme which is capable of accommodating over 60 vehicles. This land will either be secured via a suitable S106 Agreement or transferred directly to the parish council.
"Shingler Homes Ltd have undertaken continuous, positive engagement with Baschurch Parish Council (BPC) in respect of development in the village. BPC have a number of strategic aspirations and we have worked together to ensure these aspirations can be realised through collaboration, good design and future proofing."
At the July meeting, Helen Morgan MP described it as a "now or never" opportunity to get the station reopened. Shropshire Council's infrastructure lead, Councillor Dean Carroll, said the authority would be "fully behind" the railway reopening, but said without public support, the housing development application would likely be rejected by the planning committee due to it not lying within the local plan development boundary. Other transport experts and Baschurch Parish Council chairman Andy Woodthorpe also spoke at the meeting.
The former station, now known as Station House, is privately owned and in residential use, meaning a new station would need to be built in order to get the village reinstated as a stop on the Shrewsbury-Chester line.
Baschurch councillors and campaigners for the railway station are currently reviewing the application, and have urged residents to take a look and have their say.
To view and comment on the application, visit pa.shropshire.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=RGO4RDTDI9600
