Buckshaw Parkway multi-storey car park plan to be investigated

Chorley Council has commissioned a £20,000 study to investigate the potential for the project, which it is hoped would alleviate the area’s longstanding parking problems.

The existing surface-level park and ride facility at the station is often full to capacity during more normal, non-pandemic times.

However, the council warns that while it also has some cash from planning agreements that it could contribute to any full-scale construction project, it would be insufficient unless other organisations also pitched in.

An agreement has been reached with the owner of an adjacent plot of land to create a temporary car park should the multi-storey ultimately be built on the site of the existing parking provision.

Astley and Buckshaw ward councillor Laura Lennox says that the station has been “a victim of its own success”.

“With the exception of Chorley, the services from Buckshaw Parkway over towards Manchester are much better than from other stations in the vicinity – there are certainly not as many trains in that direction from Leyland.

“But the parking issue does cause a lot of aggravation for people, so I’m pleased that Chorley Council has said that it will act as an honest broker in trying to move things on.”

However, Cllr Lennox warned that finding the cash was not the only potential barrier to the car park project.

“Because this was the site of the former Royal Ordnance munitions factory, nobody really knows what they will find until they start digging.

“Obviously, the land has previously been cleared and remediated, but you will need to dig down a lot further to put in the foundations for a multi-storey than for what is there at the moment,” she warned.

The results of the proposed “industry standard” feasibility study for rail infrastructure projects would be required in order to secure the support of the three main stakeholders – Network Rail as the landowner, Northern Rail as the operator and Lancashire County Council as the transport authority. The outcome of the study could also be used to seek external funding for the full-scale project.

The study will be carried out by Northern Rail.