Mid Devon District Council has recently been referred to in a letter sent to our local MP from the Minister of State for Rail confirming that Restoring Your Railway (RYR) funding has been withdrawn, citing the challenging financial picture the new Government has inherited.

Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, Minister for Rail, stated in his letter:

“As the Chancellor set out in her statement yesterday (29 July), the Transport Secretary will be reviewing the full transport investment portfolio, including other projects outside rail. Whilst we will attempt to consider the Wellington and Cullompton stations' project as part of that review, I want to be clear, at this stage, that the Government will not be able afford all projects under the funding that we have available.”

The project is a vital piece of infrastructure that would help the residents of Cullompton place less reliance on vehicular transport, thereby easing pressure associated with J28. The project is also an integral part to enable the Culm Garden Village.

The Council will now do all it can to see if there is any potential of either reversing this decision, or at least, gaining some clarity over what the new Government are planning to do to assist the other long-standing infrastructure needs of this area and to unlock key elements of housing delivery.

Councillor Jane Lock, Cabinet Member for People, Development and Deputy Leader, said:

“Rest assured we, along with our local MPs and local authority partners, will do all that we can to help re-focus the new Government into providing critical funding to enable the delivery of the key road/rail infrastructure that is so vital to unlocking housing delivery in our district."

Councillor Simon Clist, Cabinet Member for Housing, Assets and Property and Deputy Leader, added:

“We are extremely disappointed with this news, however we remain optimistic as this project would help towards one of the new Governments planned aspirations - to see national housing delivery of 1.5m new units during the current parliament.”