PLANS to expand facilities at Pontypool and New Inn railway station with a new park and ride and a footbridge have won the backing of council planners.

The scheme proposes a new car park which will be accessed off newly built slip roads from the A4042.

A new footbridge and a lift which would provide access from the car park to the railway station platform is also included in the plans.

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The proposed slip road and parking area would involve the removal of 1.5-hectares of woodland, with replacement planting to mitigate the loss planned in an area of Pontypool Park.

The project could be a catalyst for increasing trains which stop at the station and improving connectivity across the region, a planning report says.

It could also lead to some people substituting car trips to Newport and Cardiff, as they instead opt for the train.

But a planning report says the scheme is likely to increase traffic on the A4042, and on the A427 roundabout junction as people use the slip roads to access the new car park.

The existing junction already operates over capacity.

However the Welsh Government, who are in control of the trunk road and roundabout junction, have not objected, despite the expected increase in traffic.

A planning report adds that the amount of traffic on roads surrounding the existing access to the railway station, in New Inn, should be reduced due to the increase in parking.

“Given the wider impact on reducing car travel it is considered on balance that the impact on the highway network is not considered to be significantly harmful,” it adds.

Sustrans, a walking and cycling charity, has backed the plans but says new and improved walking and cycling routes to the station also need to be developed.

Friends of Pontypool Park, a community group which works to improve the park, has welcomed the additional tree planting.

But it wants to know what type of planting is proposed – so that the park does not become “a dumping ground for trees” – and has called for a better management plan.

Under the plans, the car park would provide 133 car parking spaces, 11 electric vehicle charging spaces, 11 accessible parking spaces, five motorcycle parking spaces, five drop-off spaces and a cycle shelter.

The proposed footbridge would span the trainline and the platform to the existing car park, measuring 19.5-metres in length.

Council planners have recommended approval ahead of councillors deciding the application at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday, May 26.