York councillors have reacted with fury to news that a plan to reopen Haxby Station could now be scrapped by the new government.
In her first key speech, Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was being forced into a raft of cuts to fill a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.
Among the projects to be cancelled are any ‘Restoring Your Railway’ schemes that have not yet started, to save £85 million.
The much-anticipated reopening of a station in Haxby was one of the schemes covered by this funding, so could be one of those set for the axe.
This has not yet been confirmed. We have asked the Department for Transport for clarification.
While the plans for Haxby station are well advanced, the scheme has not yet been granted planning permission.
Haxby and Wigginton’s Liberal Democrat Cllr Andrew Hollyer insisted the scheme couldn’t go ahead without the funding. “We’ve been lied to. I’m furious, angry and heartbroken for local residents who have been leading the Haxby station campaign for decades.
“Haxby Station was to be part-funded by the Restoring Your Railway programme, which has just been scrapped by the Labour government.
“Residents were promised time and time again by the Labour council and York Outer’s new Labour MP, Luke Charters, that they are in favour of this project – but now they’re in government the funding has been scrapped.”
Cllr Hollyer, who was the Liberal Democrat candidate for York Outer at the election, added: “For the government to spend years dangling the station in front of the residents of the northern villages in York only to take it away at the last moment is disgusting.
“Residents, like us, are rightly furious with Labour for immediately scrapping Haxby station’s funding.
“The planning application was due to be determined soon, and residents were promised an opening date next year – the Government needs to u-turn immediately.”
Ms Reeves told the House of Commons: “The spending audit has revealed nearly £800m of unfunded transport projects that have been committed next year.
“So my right honourable friend the Transport Secretary will undertake a thorough review of all these commitments.
“As part of that work, she has agreed not to move forwards with projects that the previous government refused to publicly cancel, despite knowing full well they were unaffordable.”
The government would “cancel projects in the ‘Restoring our Railways’ programme which have not yet commenced,” she added.
“If we cannot afford it, we cannot do it.”
Plans well advanced
Plans for the new Haxby Station are well advanced. A location for the £24m project had been earmarked on Towthorpe Road.
Detailed visuals had been drawn up of how the station would look.
In February, the former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited the site. Two weeks later a full planning application was submitted to City of York Council.
Network Rail – along with the council and the Department for Transport – were behind the plans which included a footbridge, lifts, a 154-space car park and taxi rank.
It was expected to gain approval from city planners.
The new station was set to open on the York to Scarborough line in 2026 – slightly less than a century after the original Haxby Station was closed in 1930.