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Work is due to start shortly on the final phase of
construction of the new railfreight terminal at Donnington, north
Telford.
A multi million pound contract has today been signed with Wrekin
Construction, who will be starting work on 2 June 2008.
Construction work is anticipated to finish in December 2008 with
the terminal opening early in 2009.
Once open, the terminal will have open access for traffic from
all businesses who wish to take advantage of rail.
At the same time the Council will start to market around 26
acres of land directly adjacent to the terminal. It is the
development of this land that will bring the bulk of the jobs which
the terminal is expected to create.
In addition to improving Telford's infrastructure, it will help
to make Telford and Wrekin a more attractive place for businesses
and employment creation.
It will also help to reduce the numbers of HGVs on the region's
roads by making rail transport to the Telford hub a more viable and
greener alternative. Even just one train a day will have the
potential to cut by 100 the number of lorry journeys in the
region.
Cllr Stephen Bentley, cabinet member for Environment said: "This
is great news for the borough and the terminal will bring real
economic and environmental benefits, attracting new businesses to
the area. It will help make the borough an important hub for local
businesses while also helping to reduce the traffic on the region's
roads.
"I'm sure this will mean more jobs and less heavy goods traffic
on the road network which I know many of us will welcome. It will
also support the goals outlined in the Climate Change strategy the
Council is working on which looks at a number of different ways of
reducing carbon emissions in the borough."
Cllr Eric Carter, cabinet member for Regeneration, added: "The
terminal will represent a major investment in the borough's
economic future and will underline Telford's role as a major growth
centre."
The multi-million pound terminal has been funded by a range of
partners including the Council and is supported by money from the
European Regional Development
Fund. |