Improving public transport connectivity will be one of the key priorities for the year ahead, Middlewich MP Andrew Cooper has said.
Writing in the “Northwich Guardian” Mr Cooper said New Year was a good moment to reflect on progress and focus on what still needed to be achieved, particularly in Middlewich.
He said one of the biggest issues raised by residents was the need for better rail links, and he reaffirmed his long-standing support for the Mid Cheshire Rail Link Campaign, which has spent more than a decade calling for the reopening of a railway station in Middlewich.
Middlewich, now home to almost 14,500 people, is the largest civil parish in Cheshire without a station, he said.
Mr Cooper said the town was “crying out” for the kind of transport infrastructure that helps places grow.
He wrote: “The case for reopening a railway station in Middlewich is a simple and compelling one.”
He said a rail connection would improve access to jobs, universities, medical appointments, concerts and leisure in nearby cities, and would particularly benefit young people travelling to schools, sixth-form colleges and the cinema in Northwich.
Better connectivity would also support Northwich, he said, especially at Gadbrook Park, making the area more attractive to employers and helping local businesses expand.
Improved transport links would also help retain skills locally by allowing people to stay in Mid Cheshire rather than move away for work.
Mr Cooper said new railway stations elsewhere had “repeatedly shown” they could kickstart regeneration, boost local economies and increase surrounding land values.
Two studies commissioned by the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership had highlighted both the local and wider economic case for reopening Middlewich station, particularly alongside the proposed Manchester Airport Western Link.
He said the national context for transport investment had changed, with the Government now focusing on devolving powers to mayoral combined authorities so they could plan strategically and decide which schemes would deliver the greatest local benefit.
This, he said, was a shift away from the “stop-start” approach of previous competitive bidding rounds.
Mr Cooper said this made devolution for Cheshire and Warrington “crucial”, warning that without a body able to argue for cross-boundary investment — and without the powers and budgets to turn ideas into fundable projects — Mid Cheshire risked losing out to larger neighbours.
He said devolution was not a “silver bullet”, noting the cancellation of HS2 north of Handsacre and uncertainty around Northern Powerhouse Rail, with bottlenecks such as the Castlefield Corridor likely to remain a challenge.
However, he said a strong mayor who “recognised the value of investing in local rail infrastructure” would give the region its best chance yet to make the case for improved services and to secure the rail links the wider Mid Cheshire area “needs and deserves”.
