The Department for Transport have not said whether or not they plan to fund the installation of an accessible waiting space on the accessible platform at Ledbury railway station in Herefordshire.
Those of you reading this may remember that I wrote to the government about the issue of accessibility improvement at the railway station in January and April this year.
On Thursday June the 4th 2026 the Secretary of State for transport Heidi Alexander MP responded to my letters from earlier this year by saying “she fully recognises how important accessibility upgrades are for passengers with reduced mobility. I regret that access for all will not fund further work at Ledbury station and I appreciate that Mr. Wood quite rightly feels strongly about this issue.
” In May 2024 the previous government announced feasibility Work on 50 station without setting out how the delivery of these schemes would be funded.Of those 50 schemes, we are funding eight to go into delivery under a further 23 to go into design, added the Secretary of State”.
These will be funded partly by savings to existing access for all budgets and by third-party match funding, 19 stations had no match funding including Ledbury, so cannot be added to access for all at the present time.
The Secretary of State added that “ When reviewing the programme ministers considered a range of factors in determining which schemes could progress. this included passenger usage and the scale of accessibility benefits. Geographic balance across the network, the extent of existing technical development and the availability of third-party funding contributions”.
Unfortunately, there was absolutely no mention of an accessible waiting space all the accompanying signage being installed on the one accessible platform at the station, which is incredibly disappointing to see.
“ The availability of third-party funding was an important consideration in determining which schemes could be progressed, and the absence of confirmed third-party contributions was a key factor in Ledbury not being taken forward at this stage”.
“ While Access for All will not be funding work at Ledbury on this occasion funding for future rounds of Access for All may be made available as part of the next Spending Review. Although the process and timings for identifying future Access for All projects have not yet been determined, the spending review could present the opportunity to fully or partially fund accessibility upgrades at Ledbury station” , added the minister.
” Access for All is not the only funding route to improve accessibility at stations. Given the significant funding pressures on accessibility schemes, identifying local funding sources – such as Section 106 contributions – may also help bring forward improvements at this station. In addition, the Department provides West Midlands Trains with a minor works budget, which can be used to support accessibility enhancements at its stations, added the Secretary of State”
Finally she concluded her response by saying ” Looking ahead, the creation of Great British Railways will bring infrastructure and most passenger operations under a single leadership structure. This integrated approach is intended to improve coordination, streamline decision making and ensure that future investment is more responsive to passenger needs”.
Today I am once again urging the Secretary of State for transport and the minister rail to reconsider this decision and if it is not possible for access for all funding to be granted, then please will they consider committing funding for an accessible waiting space at the station.
There is no way, but I will stop in my fight to get accessibility improvement at this role rule railway station in my home county. To say that I am disappointed that there is absolutely no mention of funding being given the rail operator to install an accessible waiting space on the only platform that can be accessed by those with disabilities or mobility issues in the response is an understatement.
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Cam
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