Council leaders have been urged to buy up farmland near railway lines, so it can be used to build two new railway stations.

The Green group at Norfolk County Council will use this month's budget-setting meeting to put forward its proposal.

The group says the council should spend £1.25m to buy land on both sides of the Great Eastern Mainline near Forncett St Mary.

They say the 140 acres of land, which is on the market, could, in the future, become the base for a station to serve people in the Long Stratton area.

The Greens say, with that land in the council's possession, it could give fresh impetus to the previously mooted suggestion for a station at Forncett.

Eastern Daily Press: The Greens want Norfolk County Council to buy land near Forncett St Mary which could be developed as a new railway stationThe Greens want Norfolk County Council to buy land near Forncett St Mary which could be developed as a new railway station (Image: Google Maps)

They say owning the land could be a preliminary to either leasing it to the railway in due course or the council developing the site itself as a station, with car parking, a bus interchange and e-bikes.

The Greens say that would allow the authority to recoup the expenditure from rents and commercial units, as well as from parking, and, in the meantime, the land could be added to the council's County Farms portfolio of farms rented to tenants.

Eastern Daily Press: Lomg StrattonLomg Stratton (Image: ARCHANT EASTERN DAILY PRESS (01603) 772434)

And they say the council should look to do something similar in the Hethersett / Cringleford area to serve places such as Norwich Research Park, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the University of East Anglia.

Eastern Daily Press: Green county councillor Dr Catherine RowettGreen county councillor Dr Catherine Rowett

Green county councillor Dr Catherine Rowett said: "Beeching's closures of the stations that served smaller communities were so short-sighted.

"To enable everyone to access the faster and more convenient zero carbon modes of travel of the future, we need to be looking to invest in integrated transport schemes that bring trains to the localities where people live.

"Access to the railways that pass through our villages would be transformative for people's lives."

Eastern Daily Press: The Greens want to see more railway stationsThe Greens want to see more railway stations

She said a station at Forncett did not need to jeopardise fast trains to London, saying there could be a short service between Diss and Norwich running between the fast train services.

Railfuture, an independent organisation campaigning for better rail services, called for such a station in 2020, saying it could cost about £15m and improve rail access for thousands of people.

Andrew Jamieson, the council's cabinet member for finance, said he would consider the proposals and would respond at the budget-setting meeting on Tuesday.

At that meeting, the Conservative administration is proposing £45m of cuts and savings, including shutting recycling centres and changing care costs for people with disabilities.

 

LOST STATION

Forncett used to have a railway station. It opened in 1849, but last served passengers on November 5, 1966, after it was removed as a stop on the Norwich to Ipswich line.

Eastern Daily Press: Forncett used to have a railway stationForncett used to have a railway station (Image: ©archant2016)

The station was once the second stop out of Norwich on the way to London, after Flordon, but had a phased closure across the 1960s.

This saw a daily freight service between Norwich and Stowmarket pulled in December 1964, before it was closed completely in 1966.

 

WORKPLACE CHARGING

Another of the Green's proposals is to introduce workplace charging in Norwich.

The idea is that, by charging business premises a levy for each parking space, it would discourage them from offering parking for staff - with workers switching to walking, cycling or buses instead.

Eastern Daily Press: The Greens want to introduce workplace charging in NorwichThe Greens want to introduce workplace charging in Norwich (Image: Archant © 2010)

And money raised, which the Greens say could be up to £1m a year, would be pumped into better public transport.

Supporters of such schemes say they cut congestion and improve air quality, but the AA previously branded them a "poll tax on wheels".

Norfolk County Council's Transport for Norwich strategy states a workplace parking place levy "should be considered".

Eastern Daily Press: Green county councillor Jamie OsbornGreen county councillor Jamie Osborn (Image: Submitted)

And Green county councillor Jamie Osborn said: "Inadequate public transport is holding back the economy of the Greater Norwich area, and our buses and local transport infrastructure need investment to become reliable. 

"Those improvements could be funded by a workplace parking levy, which would apply a small levy on car parking spaces that aren't available for most people.

"This is an approach that has seen huge success in Nottingham and around Europe, and is something the county council themselves proposed in 2020."