More funds agreed for railway line upgrade project

53 minutes ago

Victoria WaltonOxfordshire political reporter

News image — The rail line, which has been closed to the public for 60 years, would include a new station in LIttlemore

Network Rail A CGI visualisation of the new Littlemore station. — The rail line, which has been closed to the public for 60 years, would include a new station in LIttlemore

Funds totalling £14.5m have been approved to progress plans to upgrade a railway line in Oxfordshire.

The £155m project to reopen the Cowley Branch Line to passengers and build two new stations was approved last October.

But with extra contributions needed to be found locally, Oxfordshire County Council has agreed to cover the £14.5m shortfall through business rates raised by the region's two enterprise zones.

This decision has been criticised by councillors from the enterprise zones, who said the money should stay in the local area to make improvements.

The plan includes the creation of two new stations at Cowley and Littlemore, to the south of Oxford.

Network Rail will fund the majority of the project, but local businesses and organisations need to contribute £35m to the core scheme, with an additional £12.5m for things like cycle parking and routes to connect the stations to the local community.

Local partners have so far committed £33m, leaving the project needing a further £14.5m to progress.

At a county council meeting on Tuesday, the Liberal Democrat-led authority agreed to "forward fund" the extra money needed through business rates from Oxfordshire's two enterprise zones.

They are Science Vale UK and the Didcot Growth Accelerator, covering Milton Park, Harwell Campus and north Didcot.

The sites offer incentives to bring businesses to the area, including those involved in life sciences, space and energy research.

Business rates raised in the enterprise zones are primarily intended to be invested back into the local area, to improve things like transport infrastructure and active travel.

A woman is standing in a council chamber. She is wearing floral top and glasses and is smiling at the camera. There are empty seats to her left and a clock in the far right corner. — Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, Bethia Thomas, described the decision as "opaque"

Bethia Thomas, the Liberal Democrat leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council - an area that includes Science Vale - said she was concerned at the "opaque" decision to divert funds away from enterprise zones.

She said residents felt the allocation of the funds "minimises the benefits to the communities in which they are generated," and criticised the governance and lack of consultation.

But Gareth Epps, cabinet member for transport, said the proposal was a good use of funds that would bring the Cowley Branch Line in "on time and on budget" and "bring forward other parts of the plan for rail".

The council intends to replenish funds taken from the enterprise zone budget with future developer contributions, which it hopes will result from further growth in the area.

The Cowley Branch Line is currently only used by freight going to and from the BMW Mini Plant, but it is expected to reopen to passengers by 2029.