New Green Park Station Building Plans Approved

 

A MODERN station building will form part of Reading’s new Green Park Railway Station after Council plans were given the green light last night (Sep 4th).

Approval of the application by Reading Borough Council’s planning committee yesterday evening means passengers can look forward to an even better travel experience at Green Park, with the newly-built station building housing an open ticket office. It follows approval by West Berkshire Council last month. Green Park Station will sit on the Reading to Basingstoke line and will be served by a half-hourly service north to Reading and south to Basingstoke through the day. It will consist of two platforms with disabled access and a multi-modal interchange with a surface level car park, bus stops, taxi rank and cycle parking. Members of the Reading Borough Council’s Planning Committee approved the proposals last night, but also insisted that further consideration is given to providing fully accessible 24-hour toilet facilities as part of the new station building. A revised timetable for delivery for Green Park Station will see the station and new building open for passenger use in late 2020. Cllr Tony Page

Councillor Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Member for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport, said:

“The construction of a station building and ticket office at Green Park will significantly enhance the travel experience for passengers using the brand new station. “Plans had previously been approved for a surface level car park, bus stops, taxi rank and cycle parking at the new station. By successfully bidding for additional funding, the Council has now added a brand new building onto a station which will deliver major benefits to local residents in the south of the borough, businesses at Green Park and Reading fans travelling to and from the Madjeski Stadium.” The addition of a station building at Green Park was made possible through Reading Borough Council’s successful bid for £2.3 million funding from the Department for Transport ‘New Stations Fund.' When complete, Green Park Station will help to alleviate queues on the busy A33 by offering an alternative sustainable mode of travel. It will significantly improve accessibility to the south Reading area which has large-scale development proposed, including the expansion of Green Park Business Park, Green Park Village residential development and the proposed Royal Elm Park mixed-use development. The Green Park Station scheme was granted approval by the Berkshire Local Transport body in November 2014 with £9.15m funded through Thames Valley Berkshire LEP’s Local Growth Fund. A further £5.6m will come from s106 developer contributions. In July 2017 the Department for Transport announced the further £2.3m of funding to ensure the station keeps pace with demand expected from proposed major new developments in the area. The planning application for a new station building is an addition to the revised application for the Green Park Station, which was previously approved by both Reading and West Berkshire Planning Applications Committees in 2015.