Plans for new Peterborough ‘parkway station’ in Whittlesey revised due to cost concerns

The county’s mayoral body has committed to improvements at Whittlesea Station including new car park facilities which it hopes will encourage commuters to avoid driving into Peterborough.

However, a feasibility study completed by Greater Anglia on land adjacent to the existing car park showed that the current plans “exceeded the available budget and did not meet value for money criteria,” according to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

Therefore new plans have now been agreed. It was added: “A first phase will provide improvements to the existing car park using land within the current Greater Anglia lease area for Whittlesea Station.

“Phase two will extend the car park further, using additional land, and will come forward as part of the wider aspirations for the station which include extended platforms and a footbridge.”

The redesign of the plans is set to be completed by the middle of December.

The aim of a parkway station is to persuade commuters not to drive into towns or cities, but instead park at a rail station and catch a train.

The combined authority said the changes at Whittlesea Station will “improve its accessibility for cars and – potentially in the future – buses”.

A spokeswoman for the public body, which is led by Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough James Palmer, said: “These improvements will significantly improve the rail passenger offering at Whittlesea enabling individuals to consider rail as a real alternative to driving to Peterborough or Cambridge.”

The combined authority was formed in 2017 as part of a devolution deal agreed by council leaders in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and the Government.

Its Fenland Stations Regeneration Project has so far delivered new waiting shelters and additional cycle parking at both Manea and Whittlesea stations, as well as additional lighting at Whittlesea Station.

Further planned improvements at Whittlesea include introducing a second ticket machine and lengthening the platform which would include a new footbridge.

Moreover, plans at March Station for new car parking facilities and a redesign of Platform 1 buildings are progressing.