PLANS FOR NEW GARDEN VILLAGE RAILWAY STATION MOVE FORWARD
Phil Extra £300k funding to develop proposals
PLANS for a railway station serving a new ‘garden village’ have taken a step forward with £330,000 of government funding.
Meecebrook, at Cold Meece near Stone, will see the construction of thousands of new homes along with schools, health facilities and businesses, as part of the government’s Garden Communities programme.
Now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has allocated Meecebrook a further £330,000 of funding to support the preparation of plans, with most of the cash earmarked for the development of rail infrastructure proposals. The proposed site for the new community lies next to the West Coast Mainline.
Stafford Borough Council was awarded an initial £750,000 for Meecebrook back in 2019, with the latest allocation bringing the total investment from government to nearly £1.5 million.
Frances Beatty, cabinet member for economic development and planning at Stafford Borough Council, welcomed the new funding, saying it demonstrated the government’s confidence in the authority’s ability to deliver the project.
She said: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for this borough to deliver a new community which we want to be the blueprint for best practice in so many fields such as the environment, transport, education and housing. And it is great news to see we have been successful in securing additional funding to investigate the feasibility of a new railway station on the West Coast Mainline for the proposed garden community.
“This is another step further towards creating a new garden community in the north of the borough.”
Work carried out so far has included preliminary studies into key infrastructure, including roads, water and energy. The scheme is to be considered as part of the council’s new local plan covering the period 2020 to 2040.
Staffordshire County Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for economy and skills, Philip White, said: “We’re committed with Stafford Borough Council and other partners to ensure the Meecebrook development is sustainable with careful and considered planning, and so we welcome this additional funding from Government to help us achieve this.”
Coldmeece is one of 43 projects across England being supported by the £69 million Garden Communities project, which is set to deliver up to 16,000 homes a year from 2025.
Housing Minister Stuart Andrew said: “Building beautiful new homes in the places they are most needed lies at the heart of the Government’s levelling up mission. Garden villages and towns are perfect examples of the vibrant, green communities we want to see right across the country and today’s funding will allow us to work hand-in-hand with local leaders and industry to deliver the high-quality new homes that we need.”