Headbolt Lane station tipped for go-ahead

Knowsley Council’s December planning committee is expected to approve Network Rail’s plans for a new station in Kirkby.

The proposed station, designed by Seed Architects, would act as the new terminus for Merseyrail and Northern trains, effectively replicating the existing arrangement at Kirkby station, which would become a Merseyrail station with no Northern service.

Headbolt Lane would be served by the existing Merseyrail link with Liverpool Central, with four services per hour, and by the hourly connection with Wigan.

In all, the project will take up 26 acres. The new station would lie to the south of Kirkby Brook and would have four platforms, two for Merseyrail services and two for Northern services.

A new single-storey station building, which would include a ticket office, booking hall and toilets is proposed to the north of the railway, along with cycle storage and a large substation.

A 30-space car park including drop-off spaces, along with two bus stops and turnaround area is proposed next to the station building. A road bridge is proposed over Kirkby Brook, which would lead to a 270-space car park.

The project, for which plans were submitted in September, also includes the upgrade of lineside works to Kirkby, along with improvements to bridges, and a new road junction at Headbolt Lane/Fallowfield. The redundant platform at Kirkby would be removed.

Letters were sent to more than 550 households for consultation purposes, with just 13 responses coming in, six in support and seven objecting.

Listed among the benefits of the station are opening up access for those in the Tower Hill, Melling Mount and Northwood estates. The proposed station at Headbolt Lane is included in the Liverpool City Region’s Long Term Rail Strategy and benefits from £66m of investment from the Transforming Cities Fund.

Furthermore, the project also sits within a broader plan to expand the Merseyrail network to Skelmersdale in the future – Lancashire County Council recently submitted a business case to the Department for Transport for a station linking the town into the Liverpool Central-Kirkby-Wigan Wallgate line.

Officers recommend that members delegate authority to the head of planning to approve the plans, subject to conditions being met.

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Get. It. Built.

By Kirkbyite

i think this is a great idea to expand the merseyrail network and connect people to liverpool central and further. i have been travelling on the network since i was a few months old and im nearly 15 and i cannot wait for the new future of the merseyrail network.

By leon cullen

Great …..let’s get a move on with the link to Skem ASAP ……the Town desperately needs a link

By George

What no one is saying is how this will provide a significantly improved link for the Knowsley Industrial Park, from both Liverpool and Manchester. If combined with new and existing pedestrian and cycle links it could bring a sustainable transport link closer to the heart of one of Europe’s biggest employment zones…including the new Amazon Warehouse.
However opportunities have been consistently missed for dedicated cycle paths. The Industrial Parks one way system is fine for motorised vehicles but the number of cyclists going the wrong way ’round it demonstrate the need for safe dedicated cycle links.

By K J Martindale

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