County council delays decision on which new railway station to back

The authority was asked by developers and Horsham District Council if it would prefer to see either a new station built north of Horsham or one west of Bewbush in the new Kilnwood Vale development.

Although the cabinet member’s initial draft response said that both would bring potential benefits to each area, a new station next to a proposed North Horsham business park would be preferred due to the economic benefits.

However earlier this year councillors questioned whether it was the right time to make a decision as a planning application for the proposed North Horsham development has yet to be submitted.

Now John O’Brien, WSCC’s cabinet member for highways and transport, has said that a response will be agreed once Network Rail have provided more information about the potential impact of both proposals.

Network Rail has said that no decision has been made as to where a new station will be built, but it is understood that it would only allow one, not both, proposals to go forward.

Back in September County councillor Chris Oxlade (Lab, Bewbush and Ifield West) described it as another example of Crawley getting a ‘raw deal’ from the county council.

Members of the Environment and Community Services Select Committee will be asked to note Mr O’Brien’s response to the committee previous recommendations at a meeting on Wednesday November 18.

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