THE early morning scramble for parking spaces at the Forest’s only railway station could soon be made easier after Gloucestershire County Council agreed to more than double the number of bays.
With only 85 spaces in the current car park, commuters are often forced to park on the road but the agreement between the council and Network Rail means there could be an extra 100 bays this summer.
The agreement has come as a new report into transport in the Forest backed the creation of a new station at Elton Corner near Westbury-on-Severn.
The county council has been fighting for years to obtain land for more parking and the new car park will be in the compound next to the current spaces.
The number of people using Lydney has steadily increased every year since 2009, according to figures from the Office of Rail Regulation – there were 192,032 journeys made to and from the station in 2014-15.
If planning permission is granted, repairs to the yard will be carried out over the next three months and new lighting installed.
It will be connected to the current car park by a pedestrian gate.
The project has the backing of the Forest of Dean Council – which will have to grant planning permission for the work – and Lydney Town Council.
The county council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for transport, Cllr Nigel Moor (Con, Stow-on-the-Wold) said: “It’s been clear for some time that demand for parking at Lydney station is far greater than what is currently available.
“We’ve worked hard with the Forest of Dean District Council, Lydney Town Council and Network Rail to make the 100 extra spaces a reality.”
The extra spaces were also welcomed by county councillor for Lydney, Alan Preest who was hopeful the necessary planning permission would be “a formality”.
The UKIP councillor added: “As well as encouraging more use of the railway station for commuting out of the Forest, I believe it will help the wider regeneration in the area such as better links to the harbour, the proposed cycle link to the town centre and tourist destinations such as the Dean Forest Railway.”
Forest MP Mark Harper said: “Lydney Station car park has been too small to properly serve the people of Lydney and the surrounding areas for too long. It has become extremely overcrowded, with many local people unable to park at all, limiting the number of people who can use the station.
“I have been working on securing an expansion for the car park for a number of years, and it is fantastic to finally see some real progress.
“The extension will help allow more people to use Lydney train station.
“By working together with the Conservative-controlled district and county councils, alongside Network Rail, we have been able to come up with a long-term solution which will be a significant boost to local infrastructure.”
The news on the station car park comes as county councillors prepare to release a report on what can be done to make getting in and out of the Forest easier.”
Among the recommendations in a report to the county council’s environment and communities scrutiny committee today (Wednesday) is a feasibility study on a park and ride facility at Elton Corner looking particularly at the need and demand for such a station.
The group, which was led by Cllr Patrick Molyneux (Con, Sedbury) will also call on the council to support the idea of an outer by-pass for Chepstow to ease traffic problems on the A48.