FOREST MP Mark Harper and county transport chiefs are demanding a meeting with the head of Network Rail after the company scuppered plans for more parking at Lydney station.

He will be writing to Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne for an explanation and is backing the county council's Cabinet member with the transport brief, Cllr Will Windsor-Clive (Con, Newent) who said he was "furious" over the move.

Negotiations started in May last year to lease a piece of land next to the existing car park from the not-for-profit company which is responsible for rail infrastructure.

It would have almost doubled the 85 spaces that are currently available.

Demand for parking is so great that commuters and other travellers are forced to leave their cars on the roadside.

The snub from Network Rail comes despite growing use of the Forest's only railway station which is on the Cheltenham to Maesteg route, dubbed the 'Cinderella line' by campaigners.

According to figures from the Office for Rail Regulation there were 172,260 journeys to or from the station.

That was up more than eight per cent on 2012 when 158,702 journeys were made and the number of journey to or from Lydney has increased every year since 2009.

With thousands more homes planned for the town and wider Forest it is expected that rail travel will continue to increase in popularity.

The county council, working with the Forest of Dean District Council, Lydney Town Council and Arriva Trains Wales, came to an agreement with Network Rail over leasing the land and identified money to bring the land up to scratch for parking.

Mr Harper said: "There is obvious demand for more car parking at Lydney station, and I have been working with the County Council, Network Rail and others for some time to try and bring this about.

"It is disappointing that after all of this hard work, Network Rail appear to have backtracked on their commitments at the last minute.

"I will be writing to the chief executive of Network Rail to ask him to explain why they have done this, and back Gloucestershire County Council's call for urgent talks on the matter."

Cllr Windsor-Clive said: "It's been clear for some time that demand for car parking at Lydney station is far greater than what is currently available.

"So over the last year we've worked hard with the Forest of Dean District Council and Lydney Town Council on plans to address the problem.

"We were about to sign a deal with Network Rail to secure the expansion of Lydney train station car park by extending onto nearby land.

"The three local councils believe this would have encouraged greater use of the train service at Lydney and in turn support the local economy.

"For Network Rail to pull the plug on such an important scheme after so much effort is a real slap in the face for Foresters.

"I'm absolutely furious about it and I'll be taking this up with Network Rail at the highest level."

County Cllr Alan Preest, (UKIP, Lydney) added: "There's a clear need for further parking in this location not only because of the station but also because of the wider regeneration in the area, such as improved links to the harbour, the proposed cycle link to the town centre and tourist destinations such as the Dean heritage railway.

"If additional parking is not provided, it will have a detrimental effect on these projects which are trying to bring wider economic benefits to the area."

Currently the train station car park has 85 spaces available, and the additional car park would have created an estimated further 70 spaces. 

The county council has requested a meeting with Network Rail to further discuss the matter and its economic implications.