Brand new Preston railway station moves a step closer as planning application submitted and ownership arrangements decided

Work on the long-awaited Cottam Parkway stop will get going next year if the scheme is given the green light. It is estimated that the station would then take around 18 months to build – meaning that it could be open before the end of 2024.

Passengers using the new boarding point - on land west of Lea Road and east of Sidgreaves Lane - would enjoy journey times of just five minutes into Preston city centre, or could be in Blackpool within 20 minutes.

The hope is that the £24m scheme will cut road congestion in both locations, with the business case for the South Fylde line station estimating that around 500,000 journeys a year would start or end there.

The plans have been lodged with Lancashire County Council just weeks after the authority - which is itself spearheading the development - decided that it would hand over the facility to Network Rail once it is complete.

Cabinet members approved that move last month after being persuaded that it was not worth County Hall retaining control of the station, because it would be unable to generate any income from the 250-space car park on the site - as that would be free for travellers.

Cottam Parkway would have a catchment area of around 12,000 households across Cottam, Ingol and Lea. The population in North West Preston is rapidly growing, with around 6,000 new homes expected to be built in the area in the two decades up to the mid-2030s.

Transport bosses hope that - if it is ultimately approved - the facility will prompt a switch to sustainable travel, with the station set to be served by a new bus stop, as well as improved cycling infrastructure and pedestrian footpaths on the approach. The park and ride car park will also be fitted with electric charging points.

The station - to be situated close to a long-gone stop at Lea Road, which shut down back in 1938 - would be connected to the new Preston Western Distributor Road. That route - running between Riversway and a new junction on the M55 at Bartle - is due to open next year.

It is expected that Cottam Parkway would also provide an alternative option for those suburban dwellers who commute elsewhere in the North West by train - meaning that they no longer have to drive into the heart of the city and park up before boarding a service from the main station.

County Cllr Charlie Edwards, cabinet member for highways and transport at Lancashire County council, said that the planning application was “a big step forward in delivering this new railway station, which will open up new opportunities for people and be a gateway to other parts of the region”.

He added: "We've made some important changes to the design since we announced the plans. We've added native scrubs, trees and native species-rich grassland on a field near the station to provide an overall boost to biodiversity from this scheme and help wildlife, which will also give a 10 percent biodiversity net gain for the project.

"We're already in talks with the Department for Transport and rail operators to get as many services as possible serving the station,” County Cllr Edwards explained.

It is proposed that there will be new planting to the south of the railway line between the Ashton and Lea golf course and the bridge at Darkinson Lane and the railway cottages. The station building itself will feature a ‘green’ roof – to encourage wildlife – and solar panels to help power it.

Preston City Council’s cabinet member for planning and regulation, David Borrow, welcomed the news that a planning application had now been submitted for what he described as “much-needed infrastructure”

"We believe the plans to improve the transport offer in Preston, with a focus on low carbon journeys and green travel, are essential in helping our transport networks meet the current and future needs of our growing and developing communities, businesses and visitor numbers.

"The plans provide the sustainable transport networks needed to support economic growth in Preston and outline essential and transformational ways to relieve congestion and pressure on roads, as well as promote alternative means of travel.

“Together with our partners, we continue to explore every opportunity available to enhance and develop Preston, including transport and connections in and around the city," Cllr Borrow said.

Lancashire County Council’s independent, cross-party development control committee of councillors will determine the planning application for Cottam Parkway.

The prospect of a station at the proposed location dates back around a decade. However, it was only after Lancashire scooped £22.3m from the government’s Transforming Cities Fund more than two years ago that the concept started to emerge from the sidings. The Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal has contributed a further £2.1m.

BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A BRAND NEW STATION

Cottam Parkway will feature:

***A station building with ticket hall, passenger waiting area, toilet facilities, staffroom and plant room.

***Two single-face platforms, 210-metres long and able to accommodate eight-carriage trains, with passenger waiting shelters.

***A station footbridge and associated stairs and lifts to enable level platform-to-platform access, along with a secondary means of escape from the platforms.

***A surface-level car park with 250 spaces, including electric vehicle charging points for at least 38 of them.

***The possibility of adding a further 55 spaces at ground level or creating an additional 134 parking spots by constructing a single-decked multi storey.

***Bus stop bays within the central forecourt, next to the station building, to accommodate local bus services.

***An access road cutting across Sidgreaves Lane - where a new T-junction is proposed - and continuing east, parallel to the new station car park, culminating in a turning area for station pick-up and drop-off.

***A segregated cycle track and footpath along a section of the existing Sidgreaves Lane and over the Quaker Bridge, linking into Preston’s local cycle network on the Preston Western Distributor Road and along Darkinson Lane.

Source: Lancashire County Council

RUNNING LANCASHIRE’S NEWEST RAILWAY STATION

Lancashire County Council will transfer the freehold for the new Cottam Parkway station to Network Rail once it is built.

The authority concluded that handing over control of the facility to the organisation responsible for running the railways was the lowest risk of three options presented to cabinet members last month.

Mirroring the arrangements at Euxton Balshaw Lane and Buckshaw Parkway stations in Chorley, the move means that operating and maintenance costs are covered by the railway industry from the additional “farebox” revenue generated by the new stop. That will include staffing, car parking, reactive and routine maintenance, landscaping and renewal of infrastructure.

County Hall will have no ongoing liability for the station, but restrictions on car parking charges can be factored into the transfer deed. However, the authority loses control over the operation of a publicly-funded asset - with no say over other decisions such as the opening hours of the ticket office.

Nevertheless, cabinet member for highways and transport Charlie Edwards told a meeting at which the principle of the transfer was agreed that it was ultimately the “most beneficial" set-up.

“We have agreed that the car park of the station will be free - it will be a parkway station - therefore, there will be no income stream or commercial benefit to the council if we owned a car park such as that,” he added.

Cabinet members heard that introducing parking fees at the station would discourage the kind of sustainable travel that the county council was seeking to promote.

Two other options for the operation of Cottam Parkway were considered, but rejected. The first - retaining the freehold of the station and granting a lease for its use - would have ultimately left County Hall responsible for future maintenance and health and safety issues.

The second - whereby Lancashire County Council would retain ownership of the car park and access road, with the platforms and station building being transferred to Network Rail - could have been “problematic” because of the resultant part-ownership, cabinet members were told.