Another new station on the Reading-Basingstoke line?

[whole diary]

[Marlburian]

There are plans to build 15,000 new homes at Grazeley, south of the M4, to be served by a new station.

Details

So that's 35,000+ people, 30,000 more cars, many driving into Basingstoke and Reading, the new station notwithstanding.

And that's without housing developments nearby.There's an application for around 100 houses on green fields on the north-west corner of Theale, with another application, likely to succeed, relating to brown-field land opposite. South of Theale Station there's a controversial plan to build around a lake, close to a canal swingbridge where traffic is controlled by lights; one boat using the bridge takes eight minutes...

Depressing ...

Marlburian

[Reading General]

Standard of the councils surrounding Reading, to place new housing on the edge of it. If any development occurs at Grazeley, then a station needs to be built on the line first.

[stuving]

As you will see from that BerkshireLive report, and was front page of The Wokingham Paper yesterday, this is being touted as "build lots of houses here and we can leave the rest of the borough alone". That has been questioned already on the grounds that for any given planning application that is refused and goes to appeal, such grounds for refusal may not carry weight with the inspectors. No doubt there are rules and precedents about that.

This Grazeley site was in the plan last time round (2010) as part of the "South of the M4 SDL". Now at the start that name covered a large area, but it narrowed down to a concentrated new village at Three Mile Cross. But that was a village - a total of 2,500 houses over 2006-2026, out of a borough total of 13,230. Now they are suggesting now is "Grazeley garden town", going up to 15,000 but split 2:1 with West Berkshire. But while the time window has moved on to reach 2026, 11,840 of WBC's total of 13,901 by then are already accounted for. So they are talking about Grazeley expanding into the 2050s...

But this is all based on a draft to be voted on at an "extraordinary executive" meeting on Wednesday, followed by a consultation. That draft is online for the meeting, but is incomplete (e.g. no pictures).

[stuving]

Based an a quick look at the draft plan (Local Plan Update), Grazeley Garden Town is allocated 3.750 of WBC.s 10,000 houses by 2036 - so yes, slow. That's out of 4,962 new allocations 2018-2036 - and no, I can't get those number to add either (yet).

On transport(ation) for GGT, there is this:

A comprehensive package of measures will be introduced to facilitate and enable smarter transport choices to meet the needs of the new community and maximise opportunities for sustainable travel. Grazeley garden town will be a highly sustainable, self-contained, new settlement supported by a comprehensive and integrated transport system including: the provision of an appropriately lit network of footpaths, cycleways and bridleways to enhance permeability within the site to connect to the borough’s existing Greenways network and/or National Cycle Network routes and to access essential community services and facilities at the new garden community, as well as neighbouring settlements in the area; a new railway station on site; the extension and integration of a high-quality rapid public transit and public transport network to facilitate an attractive and accessible link to Reading and railway stations at Mortimer and Green Park; Park and Ride facilities; upgrades to the A33 and Junction 11, and other effective integrated measures to mitigate the transport impacts of the proposed development on the strategic and local road network.

Comprehensively planned, designed and legible foot and cycle ways shall be provided throughout the development, integrating with the Greenways network and connecting with the surrounding areas and countryside, including seamlessly linking key development areas including Green Park, Shinfield, Three Mile Cross, Spencer’s Wood, Swallowfield, Grazeley Green, Mortimer and Reading Town Centre.

Support and not prejudice the provision of a new railway station to facilitate longer-term growth at the new garden community. The councils will continue to support a railway station at Grazeley garden town and will work with Network Rail, railway operators and other partners to develop and implement a strategy for its future delivery and ensure opportunities to do so are fully explored and maximised.

Other specific transport-related infrastructure requirements identified through the Masterplan and Infrastructure Delivery Plan SPD and masterplans for this garden community will be delivered in a phased manner.

[eightonedee]

And that's without housing developments nearby.There's an application for around 100 houses on green fields on the north-west corner of Theale, with another application, likely to succeed, relating to brown-field land opposite. South of Theale Station there's a controversial plan to build around a lake, close to a canal swingbridge where traffic is controlled by lights; one boat using the bridge takes eight minutes...

That one has been seen off for the time being - see- 

https://publicaccess.westberks.gov.uk/online-applications/appealDetails.do?previousCaseType=Application&keyVal=P1CXIWRD02N00&previousCaseNumber=16%2F01240%2FOUTMAJ&activeTab=summary&previousKeyVal=O720KQRD09N00

As to local authority boundaries around Reading - see-

http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=22464.msg276200#msg276200

Unfortunately, Reading as an underbounded local authority is reliant on land in surrounding local authority areas for housing supply. The Grazeley scheme has been promoted, off and on, for a quarter of a century. If there can be a station on the Reading - Basingstoke line it might even be to some degree "sustainable". It makes more sense than putting the homes in the flood plain and in an area of some wildlife value, see-

https://britishbirds.co.uk/article/bb-eye-saving-a-place-for-nightingales-citizen-science-conservation-and-the-planning-system/   

So I regret that I can see quite a lot in favour of this scheme.

If Green Park station is anything to go by, there's also years' worth of posts in this thread to be derived from this, too.
 

[Adelante_CCT]

And that's without housing developments nearby (around Theale)......

Not forgetting the 200 homes being built opposite Sainsburys near Junction 12.

A comprehensive package of measures....including.... upgrades to the A33 and Junction 11...

Junction 11 is already large and complicated enough as it is!

[Marlburian]

Most Saturday mornings I work at Hosehill Lake, which is next to Main Pit, so have been following the debate for several years. The road between the swingbridge and the Fox & Hounds pub flooded badly several years ago and for a couple of Saturdays I had to leave the car and splash through the floodwater, hoping that no 4 x 4 driver would think it fun to drive past and douse me.

The developers came up with some flood-alleviation ideas that included enlarging the sluices in and out of "our" lake.

Marlburian

[CyclingSid]

The original proposal was in 2016. WBC applied for funding to MHCLG under the Garden Village scheme, applications for which closed Aug 18. The member for Wokingham was initially enthusiastic and then became less so, possibly when it become obvious that a significant part of the land was owned by the then member for Newbury.

The original proposal details are still on the WBC web site. There was also a Transport Review done by Phil Jones Associates, funded by the Thames Valley LEP^» (Local Enterprise Partnership - about), which is possibly on the WBC web site http://www.wokingham.gov.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=422580 but currently times out.

The Berkshire Live report doesn't seem to add much new to the original report, so could be seen as a rehash of old news.. 15,000 houses equate to a potential population of 36,000 people, quite a village. The other proposal raised at the same time was more housing round Twyford/Ruscombe, which I believe is happening.

On Theale, when I last went to Newbury there is a considerable amount of "cut up" land west of Theale station next to the lake, so wasn't quite sure what that was about.

[eightf48544]

A new station at Grazely would make 5 (if Green Park built) in 16 miles 46 ch.  It would be a tight squeeze for 2tph stoppers possibly 2 tph CC fasts and increased freight to and from  the West Midlands.

Will Definitely need to be electrified, possible freight loops, possible 4 track station and flyover at Basingstoke! (Southcote as well?) .It is intersting to note lines built around 1900 many had 4 track stations with theough lines in the middle. The GW^▸ (Great Western)/GC^» (Great Central Railway - link to heritage line) joint from Ruislip to Anyho being the classic but even minor railways like the Barry built such stations

How big a carpark would would they build?

Free frequent  shuttle buses from estate to station to serve all trains from first to last?

Added as an afterthought. How many empty houses are there in the country? Move the jobs to the houses.

[grahame]

A new station at Grazely would make 5 (if Green Park built) in 16 miles 46 ch.  It would be a tight squeeze for 2tph stoppers possibly 2 tph CC fasts and increased freight to and from  the West Midlands.

Will Definitely need to be electrified, possible freight loops, possible 4 track station and flyover at Basingstoke! (Southcote as well?) .It is intersting to note lines built around 1900 many had 4 track stations with theough lines in the middle. The GW^▸ (Great Western)/GC^» (Great Central Railway - link to heritage line) joint from Ruislip to Anyho being the classic but even minor railways like the Barry built such stations

Thank goodness there are no London super-fast expresses passing through ...

Here in Bristol it seems very clear that running high(ish) speed trains along existing lines seriously limits the scope for local services. Since the December 2019 timetable change, we have fewer cross-city trains in Bristol and no direct daytime trains from Lawrence Hill or Stapleton Road to Bristol Parkway because 'premium business traffic' (in the form of London-bound IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train)) has been prioritised over all else.

Campaigns to open new stations at Wootton Bassett, Coalpit Heath, St Anne's Park, Saltford and Corsham, or to provide a meaningful service at Pilning, or to reopen the Thornbury branch to passengers, are all to a greater or lesser extent held back by pathing issues. If it wasn't for all these trains, we could have a train service.

[Reading General]

I can never quite understand why getting to london slightly quicker is desirable from any point in the country, I mean, how many people does it benefit? I count the GW^▸ (Great Western) lines west of Didcot and Bedwyn as early high speed lines as many places on these lines might as well not have a railway at all. I guess the lines not facing london can count themselves lucky that they still have local stations.

To my eyes, it looks like four tracks from Oxford Road junction to Southcote junction was allowed for when the Oxford Road railway bridge was replaced in the late 30’s. There is plenty of room through the cutting and the two over bridges have extra arches available. The embankments can be dug out and walled, and the abutments to the Oxford Road bridge look to have been made wider at street level to allow for this. Of course it would spell the end for the now very popular Reading west station.