MARTIN WELCOMES MOVE TO SIDELINE PARKWAY

1.27.38pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 6th Jun 2007

Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has welcomed a recommendation to today's [6 June] County Council cabinet to sideline the controversial Gloucester Parkway railway station scheme. Officers are recommending resubmitting a bid to Government only for the highways and Park & Ride elements of the Elmbridge Court scheme - without the controversial Parkway station. But discussions would continue about the station with Network Rail and others.

This follows a clear instruction from the Department of Transport that the Parkway scheme had to go back to the drawing board.

"Obviously I'd prefer them to abandon the Parkway idea altogether. It's bad for Cheltenham, bad for Gloucester and bad for the environment. But this is definitely a step in the right direction. I'm sure everyone locally will welcome other public transport improvements. Let's hope they can go ahead and win government funding. In time we can all work together to come up with some better ways to improve railway services to both Cheltenham and Gloucester."

"Putting a third mainline station in between Cheltenham and Gloucester will always pose a long-term threat to the future of both older stations. Now is the time to start looking at other options like a light rail connection between the two towns and perhaps beyond them to other parts of Gloucestershire."