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County Councillor to press the case for Skelmersdale Railway Station

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cllr gibson
Cllr Julie Gibson

This is not the end of the line”

County Councillor Julie Gibson, the Labour Group Shadow Cabinet Member for Economic Development has called on the County Council not to give up on the proposal for the Skelmersdale Railway Station and called for talks to begin immediately. In a motion to be heard at Full Council on 13th October Cllr Gibson will call on the County Council to engage in dialogue with partners to continue discussions to build a railway station in Skelmersdale.

Cllr Gibson said: “Like many others across Skelmersdale I was extremely disappointed when we received the news that the Government had reneged on its commitment to delivering a railway station in Skelmersdale. This was a commitment that was set out in the Conservative manifesto of 2019 with the then Transport Secretary Rt Honourable Grant Shapps MP committing to the project as a top priority in their levelling up programme. Yet back in July of this year, we received the disappointing news that the project was no longer considered “value for money.”

Cllr Gibson said: “This project received, and has always received, cross-party backing from as far back in 2014 when it was part of the Highways and Transport Master Plan. It has the backing of business and the community and will open up a world of opportunities for Skelmersdale and the wider West Lancashire population as well as attracting inward investment to the new town centre. It would benefit not just the West Lancashire economy but the wider Lancashire economy also.

Cllr Gibson said: “My motion calls on the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ask them to honour their 2019 commitment to funding Skelmersdale Railway Station. We deserve better from this Conservative Government; we deserve a fully integrated transport system, and we must ensure that this is not the end of the line for the Skelmersdale railway station.”

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