Town votes funds for station
By the narrowest of votes, five in favour to four against, Langport Town Council voted this evening to provide funds towards a feasibility study to look into reopening Langport Station.
As the Leveller revealed last year, there are two stumbling blocks to getting the station reopened. The first is that to access the new stations funds (Langport is considered in Whitehall to be a prime prospect to share in this fund) the viability of the station has to be tested via a feasability study. The second was that Somerset County Council would not support Langport ahead of Wellington because Wellington had attracted financial backing from Taunton Dean Borough Council.
Clare Aparicio has lobbied SSDC to be more supportive of the Langport bid. Somerset County Council have offered to provide technical input, expertise and manpower. As a result the initial feasibility study is only expected to cost £30,000. But that is still a large sum for a smallish community. Of course many others will benefit if the station is reopened on what is the largest stretch of line without a station west of London.
Local MP David Warburton wrote to the Town Council urging them to pledge financial support for the project. The Town Council meeting was also told that the Langport Atea Business Group had pledged £1,000 and Transition Langport £500, towards funding the feasibility study. Vice Chair Cara Naden proposed that Langport Town Council now take the lead and commit £3,000 to the project. This the town council eventually passed.
The station project is definitely up and running.