Newton Abbot Railway Station is set to get a new entrance

A new entrance to Newton Abbot Railway Station from the Brunel Industrial Estate is set to be built.

Devon County Council has given the go ahead for the new entrance and station building to be built on land currently used as parking by International Dance Supplies and Royal Mail.

The existing footbridge across the platforms will be extended to connect to the new entrance.

Under delegated powers, officers this week approved the council’s own scheme to improve accessibility to the station from Brunel Industrial Estate to the east, which aims to make the railway a more attractive travel option over the car and to promote it as a form of public transport.

The extended footbridge would provide an eastern access to the station, would be at a height to safeguard for future electrification of the line, and the span of the bridge would allow space for a possible second relief line and platform, should the station be developed in this way in the future.

Thousands of employees who work on the estate and residents in Buckland and Milber are set to benefit from the new station entrance.

The report of officers outlines that the proposal will provide greater access to Newton Abbot Railway Station and that thousands of employees who work on the estate and residents in Buckland and Milber are set to benefit from the new station entrance.

It adds: “It is considered the proposed new access to the train station will encourage sustainable transport by improving access for both employees at Brunel Industrial Estate and residents within Buckland residential area.

“The proposal will provide greater access to Newton Abbot Railway Station and while there may be disruption to the local area during construction, this is temporary. Overall, it is considered the proposal is acceptable and planning permission should be granted.”

The new footbridge will be approximately 22m long and connect to the end of the existing footbridge. It would be fabricated in the construction area, then craned into position during a night-time rail closure.

The end of the existing footbridge will require modification for the proposed footbridge extension to connect to it, with the removal of part of the end trimmer girder, platform canopy and removal of the end lunette window of the existing footbridge.

Documents with the application added: “The new station building will include a stairwell surrounded by a central lift core and will have basic station facilities such as ticketing machines, visual information displays and ticket gates.

“This scheme would reduce this distance considerably for Brunel Industrial Estate bringing the estate within recommended requirements. Furthermore, this scheme would halve the walking distance for parts of Buckland residential area, from 1.6km or 20 minutes to 800m or 10 minutes.

“Newton Abbot Railway Station passenger numbers increased by two per cent in 2016/17, where entries and exits went from 1,170,480 in 2015/16 to 1,193,454 in 2016/17 (Office of Rail and Road).

“All these passengers currently access the station from the single access point to the west. A new access to the east would help to distribute the high passenger numbers that currently all use the west side of the station, improving efficiency and passenger journey quality, and increase capacity to provide for future growth.”

It had been hoped by residents, as well as Sally Henley, Newton Abbot’s town development manager, that the new bridge could be used as a public access from the town centre across the footbridge to the industrial estate.

The report says that while the benefits were clear, the scheme focuses on access purely to the railway station and as the station has ticket barriers, public access could not be achieved and there were also concerns of anti-social behaviour from Network Rail.

Devon County Council though has confirmed that the scheme does not preclude any future proposals for this from coming forward and various options are being investigated.