Upgrade to railway station won’t include new disabled access

Plans for an upgrade to Chepstow railway station are set to be outlined later in July but a revamp won’t include new disabled access. 

Previously announced cash from the UK government could be used to provide toilets and a waiting room at the station as well as improved footpaths leading to the station and potentially an expanded car park. 

The previous UK government announced £5m for improvements to Chepstow rail station in its November 2023 autumn spending statement but Monmouthshire County Council’s deputy leader Paul Griffiths said that was only for a limited project related to the car park. 

The Labour councillor, who represents the town’s Castle and Larkfield ward, said: “That was limited to providing opportunities for buses to turn around at Chepstow station, and included the consequential loss of car parking spaces.” 

Cllr Griffiths said the council has sought to “expand the remit of the original allocation” to develop the station as “a hub to attract travellers and businesses to Chepstow” and it has been agreed the government funding can be “flexed” to include the further enhancements. 

He added: “It could also be flexed potentially to include access to land for improved car parking.” 

A report outlining the investment plan, and seeking the council’s approval for it to provide match funding, will be brought to the council’s July meeting, said Cllr Griffiths who was responding to Chepstow Mount Pleasant member Paul Pavia. 

Conservative Cllr Pavia said the update “seemed really positive” but said Network Rail, which is responsible for the station, is “still in breach of the disability discrimination act” as it hasn’t addressed access to its westbound platform. 

He said in 2020 Network Rail had told a council committee the issue wouldn’t be addressed until 2025: “Well 2025 is here and it’s still not addressed.” 

He suggested land adjacent to the westbound platform could be used for parking and for access. 

Cllr Griffiths said he “unfortunately” couldn’t give a commitment for a disabled access as he had to accept it wouldn’t be possible to get an agreement from Network Rail to the same timeframe for spending the money from the UK government. 

Network Rail has a programme for access improvements, which has included Abergavenny, but it hasn’t yet got a date for Chepstow, said Cllr Griffiths who added: “I look lustfully at the barely used land beside the west bound platform.”