Newbury Station to benefit from cycle upgrade

£500,000 investment will deliver "first-class cycling facilities"

NEWBURY railway station is to benefit from a £500,000 revamp to its cycling facilities.

Great Western Railway said that the funding would provide 300 additional cycle spaces along with bike pumps and repair equipment.

West Berkshire Council’s portfolio holder for highways and transport, Jeanette Clifford (Con, Northcroft), said: “This is excellent news and provides a boost to our plans for improving access to Newbury Station and promoting cycling in Newbury.

“The funding will deliver first-class cycling facilities at the station and encourage those who live or work in the town to make more journeys by bike.

“West Berkshire Council, through its Newbury Vision 2026, is seeking to create more flexibility for people to make journeys without relying on cars and this new cycling hub will help us to achieve that.

“We are very pleased that our partners share this vision and to be working with them to deliver this exciting project.”

The funding for Newbury is part of a Department for Transport scheme to improve cycling facilities at three stations on GWR’s network.

A combination of government and local funding amounts to a £1.6m investment.

Integrated transport manager for GWR, Mark Youngman, said: “This is fantastic news for our passengers and will allow us to build even further in developing our popular cycling facilities.

“Since the start of our franchise, we have invested heavily in improving the quality and quantity of our cycling facilities and have worked in partnership with local authorities to deliver some significant improvements.

“The additional funding now being made available through the Government’s cycling fund will allow us to enhance our cycling facilities even further and roll out our popular cycle hubs to even more stations across our network.”

The announcement follows news of a £6m upgrade for Newbury Station from the Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership.

The upgrade will improve connections for pedestrians, cyclists and those using public transport, as well as providing office space for start-up businesses.