BCP Council are set to withdraw the £2.6m of accessibility funding for Pokesdown Railway Station, the nearest station to AFC Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium.
Initial improvement plans were approved by BCP Council in January 2022, with later plans scaled back to a proposal of a lift system and a repaint of the station.
With the station a mere mile from AFC Bournemouth’s stadium, Councillors have raised concerns about the increased demand once the capacity is increased by 6000 seats by August 2026 under the proposed stadium expansion plans.
Labour Councillor for Boscombe West, Patrick Canavans posted on Facebook stating:
“This is a not just a slap in the face for Boscombe residents but has serious implications for the plans by AFC Bournemouth to expand its stadium generating significantly more visitors to the area. It is an insult to the tireless work of Tom Hayes MP and local campaigners to ensure that the lifts are fit for purpose.”
The BCP Council, however, are urging rail bodies to prioritise the station upgrades, claiming that the years of delays have pushed the council to be unable to commit its previously agreed provisional funding.
In a statement online, Councillor Mike Cox CBE, Cabinet member for Finance, said:
“We would need to borrow the money to pay for these improvements, and the £2.6 million cost originally earmarked would actually cost residents across our three towns £9.75 million in total over the 50-year term of the loan, if you include interest payments. That’s nearly £200,000 per year that could go towards funding services that benefit all residents across our three towns.
“At a time when we’re making difficult decisions because our funding from central government has reduced while the cost and demand for our services has increased, we simply can’t justify spending nearly £10 million on something that is the responsibility of the rail operator, and when we are having to take difficult decisions to protect services for the most vulnerable in our community.”
Tom Hayes has been an advocate for the multi-million-pound upgrades, particularly after being elected as Labour MP for Bournemouth East in July 2024.
Tom Hayes took to Social Media, slamming the decision, stating:
“As of today, the upgrades and the lifts I have been fighting so hard over the recent months to deliver, and it felt we were just within weeks of delivering the very best news about, is again being thrown into doubt because the Liberal Democrats and the Independents running the council have today told me and SWR that they were axing their funding and sabotaging the scheme in the process.”
“I don’t trust their word and unfortunately, BCP Council are now a part of the problem, they are not part of the solution.”
The Labour MP has started a petition against the withdrawal of funds, which you can sign here.
BCP Council’s cabinet will decide whether to withdraw the provisional funding on February 11th.
