A VETERAN councillor’s campaign to bring a railway station to Bonnybridge hit the buffers as Falkirk councillors agreed not to support a fresh bid.
At Falkirk Council’s final meeting before the summer recess, Baillie Billy Buchanan called on fellow members to support moving to the next stage of a formal strategic transport appraisal, noting it would cost between £250,000 and £300,000.
Reinstating a railway station in the village, he said, was “the best proposal for Bonnybridge since the Romans left here”.
The Larbert & Bonnybridge councillor, who has campaigned for a railway station to the area for 30 years, also called for a working group to be set up to take plans forward, with a member from each political party as well as an Independent or Reform councillor.
But senior council officials told members that the council’s ‘case for change’ had been put to Transport Scotland and had been firmly rejected, with no likelihood of this changing any time soon.
Head of assets, Paul Kettrick, told members that proceeding further “would not be a prudent use of funding or officer time” without the support of Transport Scotland.
Members were told that Transport Scotland typically support railway stations where there is a population of between 8000 and 12000, while Bonnybridge has a population of around 5000 people.
Falkirk councillors have consistently supported the call for a railway station, as have other local politicians including the former Falkirk West MSP Michael Matheson.
Two SNP councillors – Fiona Collie and Brian Deakin – could not take part in the debate as both were very involved in a community group that had campaigned to reinstate a station in the town, so both had to declare an interest.
Labour councillor Jack Redmond, who also represents Larbert & Bonnybridge, has previously supported the campaign and Baillie Buchanan invited him to second the motion.
But Cllr Redmond said that he while he “really wanted to second the motion”, he would vote with his Labour group colleagues, who could not support moving forward when there was such little chance of success without the backing of Transport Scotland.
“It makes total sense – Bonnybridge needs a railway station,” he said.
“You’ve got a climate emergency and we are supposed to be moving away from their own private transport onto public transport – I just can’t see why we wouldn’t have a train station in Bonnybridge.”
But he added that it was clear that Transport Scotland will not support the project and the money that would be spent on an appraisal could be better used for other projects.
Baillie Buchanan said he “totally disagreed” with the officers’ figures, arguing that the hundreds of new homes currently being built nearby in Dennyloanhead and Banknock should also been taken into account.
Last week, Falkirk Council’s executive agreed to make a fresh case for change to Transport Scotland in a bid to improve public transport in Grangemouth, after the government body rejected the council’s initial proposal.
Councillors questioned why the Grangemouth decision was being challenged but not the Bonnybridge one.
Kettrick said that there were major differences in the two projects, including the development of the Forth Green Freeport in Grangemouth, which is projected to triple the container and freight movements around the town, and other changes underway in the wake of the closure of the refinery.
The leader of the council, Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, said that the SNP group could not support Baillie Buchanan’s call on this occasion as they also felt that Transport Scotland’s support was vital for the project to move forward.
However, she assured him that if there was any change in the future it could be revisited.
The Labour group leader, Councillor Anne Hannah, said that while there is huge support among all parties for the proposal, she added, “at this stage it’s not advisable for us to spend a great deal of money with the fairly certain result it will take things no further forward”.
