Haxby Station plan: residents and businesses have a say

Bringing a train station back to Haxby has been a long-held ambition locally, with the previous station having been closed some 92 years ago.

City of York Council say that following a consultation with local residents and businesses, more than 1,000 responses have been received backing the proposed railway station in Haxby, with more than 80 per cent of respondents supporting a station and 83 per cent saying they would use it.

This follows a decision made at the council's executive in December last year which selected a site on Towthorpe Road as the proposed location of the new station.

Over recent weeks the council has been asking residents for their views on the initial plans, designs and use of the new station ahead of the funding bid being submitted to government.

In addition to the online survey, the council also facilitated in-person drop-in events in Haxby and Strensall, gave updates to parish council meetings and provided paper copies of the consultation to get as wide a range of views as possible.

They say the responses will help shape the design of the station and also the funding bid to government, which will be submitted later this year.

An initial summary of the findings shows:

1,200 people participated in the consultation 81% of participants support the station proposal (67% strongly support), 14% are opposed, with 5% neutral 83% of respondents say that they would use Haxby station, to one extent or another 78% said that they would use the station for leisure travel, 66% would use it as part of longer distance journeys, such as for journeys to London and Manchester Airport.

There were also a number of comments throughout the consultation with people asking questions, raising concerns or making general comments.

What a new Haxby Station might look like from the platform (Image: UGC)

Councillor Keith Aspden, leader of City of York Council, said: “Our ambition to bring a railway station back to Haxby has made significant progress in recent years, and that is why we launched this consultation to get early and important feedback from residents and local businesses on the proposals.

“The feedback and comments we have received will help shape our funding bid to central government and future plans around Haxby station to ensure we deliver the best possible scheme.

“I would like to thank everyone who took the time to have their say, these results provide a very helpful insight into people’s views and will help us in our efforts to make a station in Haxby a reality.”

Councillor Andy D’Agorne, deputy leader and executive member for transport said: “We are grateful to everyone who took part in the consultation.

"It is encouraging to see the support there is for Haxby Station and that so many felt a station in Haxby would mean they don’t need to use the car as much. This is just one example of the many benefits it would bring.

“Now our focus is on feeding the responses into our funding bid for government to bring trains back to Haxby for the first time since 1930.”