A SIX-million pound plan to overhaul a train station and improve local transport will be supported with a £1.4m council contribution.

However members of Monmouthshire County Council again raised their displeasure that there is no plan to improve disabled access at Chepstow Railway Station, where passengers unable to reach the westbound platform have to cross the border into England to make trips further into Wales.

Chepstow Mount Pleasant councillor Paul Pavia said: “Step free access isn’t an option, it is mandatory. Passengers have to travel to Lydney or Gloucester first to come back to travel west.”

The Conservative criticised Network Rail, which is responsible for tracks and other infrastructure on the railways, for failing to put in place access improvements at Chepstow, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission which he said had been “slow” to ensure the railways are meeting disability discrimination legislation.

Monmouthshire Council was asked to make up to £1.4m available from its funds for the scheme intended to provide parking and turning areas for buses at the station, additional car parking and adding public toilets and possibly a wating room.

Council deputy leader Paul Griffiths said an access bridge was “very much needed”, but said Network Rail hadn’t been able to meet the timetable the council had to spend the £5m awarded by the UK Government, but the authority would continue to lobby it to invest in a bridge.

Cllr Pavia suggested access could be created to the westbound platform across land already in Network Rail’s ownership, and Cllr Griffiths said he would make Network Rail aware of all comments on access made by councillors.

Cllr Griffiths had previously said he “unfortunately” couldn’t give a commitment for a disabled access as he had to accept it wouldn’t be possible to get an agreement from Network Rail to the same timeframe for spending the money from the UK government.

Network Rail has a programme for access improvements, which has included Abergavenny, but it hasn’t yet got a date for Chepstow.

The original plan, developed by the previous Conservative council administration, was to only provide a bus parking and turning area, at the front of the station, as well as other traffic improvements in the town but that was rejected by the then UK Government.

However in its autumn statement in November 2023 it made a surprise announcement it would provide £5m for the bus turning area, and the Labour councillor told the July meeting it had since managed to persuade the government to allow it to extend the period it has to spend the money and make the other changes at the station.

Cllr Griffiths said there was also concern at the loss of parking spaces for the original bus turning area.

He also suggested the existing C1 Bus, that goes from Chepstow Hospital to Bulwark and the Tesco store, would be able to call at the railway station, while buses serving Tintern could also make use of it, improving services for tourists.