A bid is being prepared for Cheadle to receive up to £25 million from the Towns Fund, including plans to build a new railway station in the town.
Cheadle has not had its own railway station since the 1960s and is one of the only district centres in Stockport not served by a rail link, and also lacks a direct bus service to Manchester city centre after 7pm. Surveys during the last ten years have found that local residents and businesses have regularly called for new station in the town, and the scheme has cross-party backing from local councillors and the local MP, Mary Robinson.
Stockport Council cabinet member for Economy and Regeneration, Cllr David Meller, is now calling for residents to respond to a survey on the proposals ahead of an October deadline to access the £3.6 billion Towns Fund, part of the Prime Minister’s investment in ‘levelling-up’ the UK’s regions.
The proposed railway station would sit on the mid-Cheshire Line, serving trains from Manchester Piccadilly and Stockport to Altrincham, Knutsford and Chester, near to the Alexandra Hospital and close to the site of Cheadle’s former station.
In comments to Business Live, Cllr Meller suggests a new railway station could ‘open up’ connections to Cheadle with Manchester and Stockport, with the potential to support large employers in the town access staff from further afield, including the Alexandra Hospital and the AA, as well as attract other businesses to the area.
The bid to the Towns Fund is being overseen by an 11-member board, including Simon Elliott from Transport for Greater Manchester, Marge Falconer, Executive Director at the Alexandra Hospital, and Reverend Dr Rob Munroe, Chair of Cheadle Village Partnership. Approximately £9 million of the total £25 million being asked for would go towards the railway station, with the remaining investment in Cheadle still being decided.