Helen welcomes council action on Oswestry Station building

Helen Morgan has welcomed news that Shropshire Council is set to allocate funds to improving Oswestry’s Station building – over a year after the local authority purchased it.

Scaffolding that has turned the historic building into an eyesore will be taken down and a variety of other improvements will also be made to repair and enhance the site.

The building on Oswald Road is home to Cambrian Heritage Railways (CHR), the town’s volunteer-led railway service.

It is an iconic site for the town, and could play an important role as Network Rail develop plans to reconnect Oswestry to Gobowen and bring Oswestry back onto the mainline.

The MP joined with CHR to call on the council to take action in September last year, after which a team was assembled to progress the issue.

Shropshire Council’s Cabinet will vote on a recommendation to fund £270,000 for repairs at their January meeting.

Helen has been campaigning for improvements across Oswestry town centre and to the area’s transport links and has welcomed news that direct trains from Gobowen to London are soon set to run again.

Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, said, “The Oswestry Station building is iconic for the town, and restoring it will help boost tourism and also benefit the separate project to reconnect Oswestry and Gobowen .

“Sadly, it has been under expensive scaffolding for two years now, creating an eyesore in a key town centre location.

“It is really positive to hear that Shropshire Council are finally taking action – I am glad they have listened to the concerns I raised earlier alongside Cambrian Heritage Railways.

“Hopefully this saga can come to an end and one of Oswestry’s finest heritage assets can be used to its full potential again soon.”