Great Western Coffee Shop

It^s a rail problem at Great Bedwyn
_{By Anna Mauremootoo 12:00pm Thursday 8th May 2014 in News}

(http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/resources/images/3014543.jpg?type=articleLandscape)
Resident Jan Thornton pictured outside Bedwyn railway station. BY PAUL MORRIS

Plans to increase car parking at Bedwyn Station are causing more tension between commuters and residents.

First Great Western says there are 17 car parking spaces at the station and it has submitted an application to Wiltshire Council to increase the total to 40 by creating 23 additional bays.

The new spaces would be built on disused land between the railway line and the road and would include a disabled bay.

The proposals have been welcomed by Bedwyn Trains Passenger Group.

Chairman Steve Smith said: ^We are delighted that there are plans for new parking spaces. Obviously we welcome anything that will improve the station.

^There are good days and bad days for parking and at the moment it hasn^t been too bad but at other times it does cause a problem.^

However, opposition is mounting from residents in bungalows at The Knapp opposite the station, who have been battling for years to stop railway commuters parking outside their homes, because they say new car park would only make the problem worse.

Jan Thornton, from the Knapp Residents^ Association, said: ^People in The Knapp are very unhappy about it. There are some major discrepancies in the application that need to be corrected.

^There are 25 spaces at the front of the station, not 17 as the application says, and eight cars already park on the road which gives a total of 33 spaces.

^If there is nose-first parking cars will be reversing out into traffic and people whizz down this road, the hazard that this would cause is farcical. We^ve already got enough cars down here. We nearly have as many cars down here as Swindon station car park.

^Wiltshire Council is trying to make Bedwyn a sustainable transport hub but we can^t even sustain what we already have. It^s important but they need to find a proper car park.^

The application also outlines plans to provide a new ticket machine and bike shelter, which have already been put in place.

A First Great Western spokesman said: ^Planning consent is a further step towards providing the increased parking we, and our customers want to see.^

The planning application is due to be discussed by the parish council this evening.

Campaigners in Corsham, who want to see their station open again on the line between Chippenham and Bath, have met with transport ministers to get their project on track, while further up the line at Royal Wootton Bassett, more housing development could be the trigger for the station there to re-open, with local MP James Gray meeting Network Rail to push their campaign along.

Marlborough MP Claire Perry said she supported the idea, given the problems of parking and capacity at Bedwyn station, eight miles outside the town, and said she would raise it with ministers.

"We nearly have as many cars down here as Swindon station car park."

Anyone know how many official spaces there are at SWI (excluding surrounding public car parks)? It must be in the mid-hundreds?

"We nearly have as many cars down here as Swindon station car park."

Anyone know how many official spaces there are at SWI (excluding surrounding public car parks)? It must be in the mid-hundreds?

Rail Minister re-opens Bedwyn Station car park after improvement works

Rail Minister and MP for Devizes Claire Perry has re-opened the car park at Bedwyn Station following ^40,000 improvement works.

The work provides an increase of marked station off street bay car parking, adding 23 off street parking spaces, and improving access to The Knapp.

Claire said: ^Supporting and improving our vital train services from Bedwyn and Pewsey stations is one of my local campaigning priorities and I was really pleased on Friday to celebrate the provision of 23 more off-street parking spaces at Bedwyn Station, made possible by from the Government^s Local Sustainable Transport Fund. These new spaces, together with the new shelters and ticket machine at Bedwyn will help ease some of the local parking pressures and benefit passengers from this popular station.^

First Great Western^s Bedwyn Station Manager Alison Stone said: ^First Great Western recognises the key role that rail travel has in supporting the local and national economy and we are delighted to be able to complete this work to improve access to this station and the full range of services we offer. During the previous franchise over ^85 million has been invested across our network of 210 stations, by working with rail industry partners, the DfT, and local authorities.^

The improvement works were funded by Wiltshire Council and First Great Western, and are supported by the Bedwyn Rail User Group.

Wiltshire Council secured Government funding through its Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) project to create the additional parking spaces as part of a partnership project with First Great Western.

The project has also funded a new cycle shelter and ticket vending machine, installed last August.

Horace Prickett, Wiltshire Council portfolio holder for transport said: ^I am delighted with the improvements at Bedwyn Station. This underlines our commitment to green initiatives and our successful bid for Government funding is bringing about key improvements to rail stations across the county.^

^This is supported by the development of our Connecting Wiltshire travel website which provides helpful information on all modes of transport across Wiltshire.^

The works began in late November.