Railway station plan is facing further delays

CITY COUNCIL IS LOOKING INTO FINANCE OPTIONS

- WILLIAM TELFORD

THE ambitious £80 million transformation of Plymouth's railway station is facing years of delays, as Plymouth City Council looks into where the money will come from.

The North Road East site was due to be turned into an attractive gateway to the city - Brunel Plaza within the next three years, but work on the next major milestone, construction of a multi-storey car park, is now not going to start until 2027.

It means the entire phased scheme is likely to drag on for years to come, and the council has said it is also looking into how it was going to pay for it.

The scheme has been delayed because new office space needs to be found for GWR staff working in the Rail Incident Safety Centre (RISC) building. Until they are moved out, the building, next to the Intercity Place tower, cannot be knocked down to make way for the new car park, originally planned for completion this year.

Only when the new car park is built can the existing multi-storey car park be torn down so a hotel and a university building can go up on the plot although there is now no mention of these buildings in the council's latest update.