WOODBRIDGE railway station is set to benefit from a £125,000 cash injection to improve access and parking.The project has already been given the go-ahead by Suffolk Coastal District Council and building work is set to get underway by the end of February 2003.
WOODBRIDGE railway station is set to benefit from a £125,000 cash injection to improve access and parking.
The project has already been given the go-ahead by Suffolk Coastal District Council and building work is set to get under way by the end of February, 2003.
The scheme will see parking and access arrangements redesigned, footpaths widened and parking spaces more clearly defined.
The land for the new development has become available after the removal of temporary buildings belonging to Railtrack. The total number of car parking spaces will increase from 75 to 86, with an additional eight spaces set aside for local residents. There will also be provision for six motor cycle spaces and seven bicycle spaces.
Woodbridge councillor Nigel Barratt welcomed the move and said it should benefit the whole community.
He said: "It's an improvement to the station and it will mean additional parking spaces for station visitors. It will help disabled visitors and provide extra space for bicycles and motor cyclists."
Plans are also afoot to install a new toilet block in the station car park area next year. The area will also be landscaped.
Suffolk Coastal district council will contribute £49,000 to the cost of the scheme, which will total £126,500. The remainder of the funding is being generated through Suffolk County Council, Railtrack, the Woodbridge Market Town Initiative (MTI) partnership group and Woodbridge Town Council.
Mac Miles, mayor of Woodbridge and chairman of the Woodbridge MTI, said: "I think it's great news for Woodbridge. It will look much neater and there has been a need for more parking for quite a few years.
"It's also good news that we are getting a toilet block. One thing you do need in a town with a lot of tourists is public toilets and so this is ideal, especially near to the riverside."
The project has also left open the possibility of low-floor buses operating from the station in the future.
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www.suffolkcoastal.gov.uk
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