Funding of £23m approved to relocate train station

A "repayable grant" has been approved by a council to help fund the relocation of a train station in a county.

A new town is being built to the north of Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, and as part of the development Waterbeach train station will be moved.

Homes England will pay £23m to fund part of the move, and a further £20m has been pledged by the Greater Cambridge Partnership, which has been overseeing the project.

Councillors on Cambridgeshire County Council's Strategy, Resources and Performance Committee approved the funding arrangements at a meeting on Thursday.

Building a new railway station was a condition of South Cambridgeshire District Council's decision to approve plans to build 4,500 homes as part of the Waterbeach New Town.

Progress has already been delayed and costs have increased. In February councillors heard that about £37m was needed to complete the project. This week they heard that the figure had increased to £43m.

The portion that developers would be contributing to the station's relocation will now be loaned to the project by Homes England in the form of a repayable grant.

The committee's meeting heard this is a type of loan that will not appear on the council's debt list like a conventional loan. It will be repaid by the developers in the form of Section 106 funding.

The project is being overseen by the Greater Cambridge Partnership, a group made up of local councils, business leaders and Cambridge University. They were set up to deliver funding to support growth in the area.

The Greater Cambridge Partnership's executive board will meet on 7 November to approve the plan and agree the budget.

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