Longcross Garden Village Station Car Park Refusal

The application to approve the Railway Station car park for Longross Garden Village was refused by the Runnymede Planning Committee last night. The application has been a long saga with a change to its location (to 300m away from the station entrance), dating back to 2020. The grounds for refusal sited safety as Surrey Police had stated that the original location at the station entrance met the criteria of being "as close to the facility for which they are designed as possible….providing natural surveillance across the site from other travelers and railways staff on the nearby platforms." The majority of the Planning Committee felt that the proposed location was too far away from the entrance to meet this requirement. Concerns were also expressed about the lack of a drop off facility near the station as well as having only 3 disabled spaces for an eventual population of about 5000 people.

Many local residents had been concerned that the proposed location of the station car park was too close to residential properties and would deter use of the station due to the additional walk along a narrow track, as well as encourage rail users to park in the residential area, rather than the station car park.

For a new Garden Village it has always seemed a shame that the car park could not be located as close as possible to the railway station to ensure viability of the station and to protect users of the facility.