A PLANNING application to develop a building at Reading's new Green Park Railway Station has been submitted.

The project has reached another landmark, with the planning application for the new building submitted to Reading Borough Council and West Berkshire Council.

It is expected to be determined by both local authorities in the coming months.

The new Green Park station will be on the Reading to Basingstoke line, and will be served by a half hourly service north to Reading and south to Basingstoke through the day.

Reading Chronicle:

It will consist of two platforms with disabled access and a multi-modal interchange with a surface level car park, bus stops, taxi rank and cycle parking.

The new application will see the addition of a station building and open ticket office.

The addition of a station building was made possible through RBC's successful bid for £2.3 million funding from the Department for Transport ‘New Stations Fund.’

Reading Chronicle:

Councillor Tony Page, RBC's lead member for strategic environment, planning and transport, said: "The official submission of the planning application for a station building at Green Park is another significant landmark in this council-led project, which will deliver major benefits to residents living in the south of Reading, businesses at Green Park and supporters of Reading FC.

"The new station will be an integral part of Reading's sustainable transport infrastructure with more homes, businesses and leisure developments planned in the south of the borough.

Reading Chronicle:

"It will also be another option for football fans heading to Madejski on match days, again taking the pressure off our busy roads.

"The addition of this station building at Green Park is yet another example of the council successfully bidding for sources of external funding and working with partners to the benefit of the town."

Chetna Khatri, commercial scheme sponsor for Network Rail said: "We're supportive of the planning application for a new station building at Green Park and have worked closely with Reading Borough Council to design a modern, accessible facility which would be hugely beneficial for nearby businesses, rail passengers and the wider community."

When complete, Green Park Station will help to alleviate queues on the busy A33 by offering an alternative sustainable mode of travel, and it will significantly improve accessibility to the south Reading area, which has large-scale development proposed, including the expansion of Green Park Business Park, Green Park Village residential development and the Royal Elm Park mixed-use development.

The planning application for a new station building is an addition to the revised application for the Green Park Station, which was previously approved by both Reading and West Berkshire Planning Applications Committees in 2015.

A revised planning application includes a slight relocation of the station – just south of its original position – and the extension of the platforms to 150 meters.

The revised application was approved by both Local Planning Authorities in March.

Works continue on the station interchange whilst these planning applications are being considered, and a revised timetable for delivery for the new Green Park Station will see the opening of the development in Summer 2020.

The Green Park Station scheme was granted approval by the Berkshire Local Transport body in November 2014, with £9.15m funded through Thames Valley Berkshire LEP’s Local Growth Fund.

A further £5.6m will come from 106 developer contributions.

In July 2017, the Department for Transport announced a further £2.3m of funding to ensure the station keeps pace with demand expected from proposed major new developments in the area.

The full application can be found

here

.