New Railway Station for The Vale of the White Horse

Actually, strictly speaking, it is not a new rail station but the return of a station to Grove which closed in 1964 and according to the Vale of the White Horse District Council land has been ring-fenced as part of its Local Plan Part Two.  The Vale is also working with Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) to prepare a new business case for reopening the station

Vehicular access to the site is proposed from the Williams F1 roundabout, south of the application site.  From this roundabout, a new road will spur off northwards to the east of the A338 dissecting and closing Grove Park Lane close to its junction with the A338.

The new road will lead to a new car park on land to the south of the railway line and east of the A338. Bus stops are indicated in the car park and on the A338.

From the car park pedestrian and cycle access routes lead to the proposed passenger platforms on each side of the railway track on the west side of the A338, which will be linked by a pedestrian footbridge and an underpass with lift.

The proposal would use existing railway tracks and would include new parkway stations at Grove and in Wiltshire at Corsham and Royal Wootton Bassett.

Concern has been expressed by many of the objectors and the Parish Council that the current proposal has no realistic likelihood of being implemented and that without a full feasibility study, the application is premature.  This is reiterated in part by the comments received from the Strategic Rail Authority.

Securing outline planning permission on the site is a first step in what will no doubt be a lengthy process to bring about the long-term aspirations of the District and County Councils and will allow the County Council to continue with their investigations and feasibility studies with some degree of certainty.

If the station is given the go-ahead, it is hoped it would be open by 2024.