Cheadle is set to finally get a railway station after millions of pounds of funding was approved to get the project underway. The Stockport town has secured nearly £14m from the government’s Towns Fund, which will go towards the construction of the station, and two other projects.
They also include a north-south cycling and walking route which will link the station to the town centre, and building a new Eco Business Park on Bird Hall Lane.
Securing the £13.9 million sum comes after two years of work from the Cheadle Town Board. Mary Robinson, MP for Cheadle, sits on the board and says the news is ‘a great day’.
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“This is a great day for Cheadle and it’s fantastic to have secured this funding from the Government,” she said. “A new station will plug Cheadle into the public transport network and help to address local congestion. I’m so pleased that the Station can now start to be brought forward”.
Sharon Seville,interim chair of the board, added: “We have worked tirelessly to bring this investment into Cheadle to help release its fantastic potential. There are still more hurdles to jump but we are all looking forward to the delivery of these game changing projects over the coming years. I am especially excited about the opportunities a new eco business park will bring to the borough and the sustainability template that it could set for future developments.”
The new railway station will feature a single 100m-long platform with covered waiting facilities, live departure boards and ticket machines, as well as covered parking for cycles, electric vehicle charging points and provision for disabled users. It is set to open in 2025, as planning permission is still being sought.
The accompanying cycling and walking route will also connect to wider cycle routes on Manchester Road and in Abney Hall Park, with work planned to start later this year. Perhaps the largest of the projects is the Cheadle Eco Business Park, which will provide around 110,000 sq. ft. of ‘employment space’. Work is still ongoing to secure the consent needed to make it a reality.
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