Only around half the funding needed to build a new railway station in suburban Preston is currently available for the long-planned project, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands.
The Cottam Parkway stop was first mooted a decade ago to serve the rapidly growing population of the north west of the city.
Earmarked for land between Lea Road and Sidgreaves Lane, the facility would offer passengers journey times of just five minutes into Preston city centre and 20 minutes to Blackpool.
Read more: Preston city centre bus-only route to be shortened and one-way system reversed
The Treasury announced last week that it was allocating £28.4m to Lancashire County Council to deliver the scheme – located on the South Fylde line – subject to approval of a business case. It followed the completion of the Labour government’s spending review, which was published last month.
Cost estimates back in 2020 put a price tag of £24m on the new station and accompanying park and ride, but the LDRS has learned that the bill has since soared to more than £55m – approximately double the amount now on the table from the government.
The shortfall – driven at least in part by inflation – means the project is still stuck in the sidings, in spite of the government splashing the cash.
It is understood that the station is at an advanced stage of design and work could begin quickly if the funding could be found in full.
While it is expected that attempts to bridge the financial gap will now be made, the timetable for when the plans will get off the drawing board is far from certain.
Lancashire County Council has been approached for comment by the LDRS.
County Cllr John Potter, who represents the Preston West division – within which the station would be built – says the situation is “a mess”.
He has been a vocal critic of what he sees as a lack of facilities for new arrivals in the North West Preston area, where around 5,500 homes are due to be built between the mid-2010s and mid-2030s.
“This just sounds like another [instance] where residents are expecting something, then a whole load of delays happen – and then the excuses seem to come forward. So we need to get to the truth of which figure is right when it comes to the cost.
“But regardless of that, we need this infrastructure in North West Preston to facilitate all those houses.
“This just feeds into that narrative of ‘nothing’s going get done here’ – whether it’s schools, the railway station or whatever.
“We cannot allow North West Preston to just be homes and not have the infrastructure it requires,” County Cllr Potter added.
The area is yet to see two primary schools and a secondary facility promised as part of a masterplan for the development of that part of the city.
Funding was previously allocated for the Cottam Parkway project via the last Conservative government’s Transforming Cities Fund in 2020.
Lancashire County Council was awarded a total of £40m, of which £22.3m was earmarked for the new suburban station, with a further £2.1m due to be contributed from the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal – the initiative to deliver the infrastructure needed to facilitate 17,000 new homes.
The rest of the Transforming Cities money was reserved for projects including the revamp of Friargate and Ringway, which have since been delivered.
However, the LDRS understands that the cash for the schemes was issued by Whitehall once certain milestones had been reached. In the case of Cottam Parkway, the extent of progress meant the amount drawn down was in the low millions – making the current government’s funding announcement last week effectively just a confirmation that the original cash pot was still available for the station, with around £6m on top.
In June 2022, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet gave the go-ahead to the advertisement of a contract to deliver the primary elements of the scheme, before detailed designs had been drawn up – described as an “innovative” approach designed to make the project more cost effective.
That contract was not ultimately awarded, meaning work never began – and a suggested opening date of 2024 came and went.
In announcing a broader £301m nationwide package of transport schemes – of which Cottam Parkway was a part – transport secretary Heidi Alexander said last week:
“This investment is a step toward building a transport system that serves every corner of England and Wales, especially in areas that have been overlooked for far too long.
“This isn’t just about faster journeys – it’s about unlocking growth, creating new jobs, and laying the groundwork for a more connected country.”
Station vision
It is estimated that around 500,000 journeys a year would start or end at Cottam Parkway each year.
The station would have a catchment area of around 12,000 households across Cottam, Ingol and Lea and would 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.
Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.
Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines
