Park Farm railway halt comes a step closer

The design for the longawaited railway station at Park Farm is next on the cards for planners.

An update on the progress of the proposed rail halt was presented at last week’s Joint Transportation Board meeting, held in Ashford.

Members heard that now a consultation has been carried out by engineer company, Peter Brett, brought in as consultants by Ashford Borough Council, the next stage in the development process is to prepare for the “preliminary design”.

However, although members were pleased to hear that “Network Rail now seemed more open to the possibility of a rail halt at Park Farm”, there are uncertainties about where funding would come from.

Projects similar to the one proposed for the Kingsnorth estate have cost between £6 million-£10m. Funds would be sought from grants or funding from Network Rail.

Cllr Paul Bartlett, chairman of the meeting, said: “I am pleased to see this report. Residents have been expecting it for some years.”