Carno villagers consulted on new rail station proposals
Residents of a mid Wales village have voted on proposals to install a new train station in the area.
The Welsh Government asked Carno Station Action Group and the community council to consult with residents on two potential locations. One of the sites is the original station closed in 1963 as part of the Beeching cuts to Britain's railways. The old station then became a part of the Laura Ashley site in Carno. The village lies on the Cambrian line between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. A campaign to re-open Carno station started in 2002. 'Strong consensus' In 2011 Mid Wales Transportation, a group working with the Welsh Government, said there was a strong case for future investment in the station after carrying out an out an appraisal. The site could be developed into a tourist information centre centre and a Laura Ashley museum if plans are given the go-ahead. Action Group chairman, Jeremy Barnes said the week-long consultation ended on 22 March and the results would be processed before being passed on to the Welsh government. He added: "We have talked to the Welsh government about the possibility of the new station including a tourist information centre, cafe, an office for the community council's clerk and a small museum dedicated to Laura Ashley should the existing site be chosen." "Carno is a growing village with a population of about 750 and this proposed development will create employment and allow residents affordable access to work further afield." "It is located on the longest stretch of railway without an intermediate station in the whole of Wales, the 22 miles between Caersws and Machynlleth. "There is a strong consensus that the capital asset of the railway line passing through the village is being wasted as long as the trains pass through without stopping." Laura Ashley The consultation followed a meeting between the action group and Transport Minister Edwina Hart last October. Fashion designer Laura Ashley had strong links with Carno for nearly a quarter of a century before her death in 1985. Carno was the original Welsh base of the Laura Ashley company when she moved with her husband Bernard from Kent in 1961. She is buried in a churchyard in the village. Laura Ashley's former headquarters in Carno, where many of her products were manufactured, closed in 2004.