Helen celebrates £246k grant for Gobowen Station
Local MP Helen Morgan has celebrated a £246,000 boost for Gobowen Station – and called for the next stop to be the restoration of the rail link to Oswestry.
Historic listed buildings at Gobowen Station are to be repaired after £246,146 was awarded via a Community Ownership Fund grant.
The station recently celebrated its 175th anniversary with performances from Derwen College students, who run the café at the station, at a special event attended by Helen Morgan MP, local volunteers and staff from the station’s Severn Dee Travel ticket office.
Meanwhile Helen has been pressing the Government to give the green light to the next stage of the project to reopen the Oswestry to Gobowen line. The strategic business outline case was submitted to the Government in 2022 and a decision was due by the spring of this year but has been repeatedly delayed.
Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said, “This grant is great news for Gobowen and is a welcome boost for the staff and volunteer who do such a fantastic job at the station ticket office and cafe.
“Oswestry Station Building Trust deserves a big round of applause for this success.
“The next stop is reopening the rail link from Gobowen to Oswestry. The outline business case is excellent and it’s now down to the Government to end the delays and get the wheels turning on improving Shropshire’s transport links.”
Helen has repeatedly made the case for the Oswestry-Gobowen line to Ministers and in Parliament, where last month she invited local campaigners to present directly to senior transport managers.
The funding announced on Monday is due to be spent on external repairs and improvements to the buildings that flank both platforms at Gobowen.