Ilkeston station work set to start since approved in 2013
Work is set to start to build a railway station in Derbyshire town that has been without one for about 50 years.
Plans for Ilkeston station was approved in 2013, but flooding and the discovery of protected newts delayed the project. Work on the site, which will have two platforms linked by a footbridge, is scheduled to begin on Monday. Derbyshire County Council said 160,000 people will use the £10m station in the first year after it is due to open in the autumn. Ilkeston station, which will be situated between Millership Way and Coronation Road, will link the town with Nottingham, Chesterfield, Sheffield and Leeds. The town, which is one of the largest in the UK without a railway station, once boasted three - the last one closed in 1967 as a result of the Beeching Report, published in 1963. Councillor Dean Collins, of the county council, said the new station would be a "great boost" to the area. "It will mean much quicker commuting times, helping to reduce congestion on the roads, and it will improve connectivity to nearby major towns and cities helping to encourage visitors and bring new business opportunities to the area," he said. Great crested newts, which are protected by law, were found at the site in the winter halting work while they were moved elsewhere. The authority added that it had to seek new planning permission following advice from the Environment Agency over flooding concerns.