The Government is being urged to commit urgent funding to redevelop Bristol Temple Meads railway station to show its commitment to the West of England economy.
The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Bristol City Council want ministers to recognise the importance of proper rail investment to the region’s economy. 
But they fear once again the Bristol city-region is being overlooked in favour of the Government’s much-heralded Northern Powerhouse. They also point out that Birmingham’s New Street station has been transformed with a £750m facelift.
This is despite the development of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone around the station, including the opening of the 12,000-capacity Bristol Arena, and the electrification of mainline to London which will reduce journey times.
In a joint statement, the council and the LEP said Government financial support for redevelopment of the station was needed “for the continued economic growth of the West of England and we would urge further discussions about how to unlock the essential funding”.
Temple Meads was in desperate need of major redevelopment, with an extremely congested entrance and exit ramp, overcrowded passenger tunnel, insufficient car parking and lack of key facilities such as shops, bars and toilets.
To transform the station will cost in the region of £295m, and while Network Rail had so far committed £80m for redevelopment as part of the electrification of the Great Western Mainline, this had not been fully confirmed.
“Electrification will bring faster and more frequent train journeys by 2018, but with current funding, passengers will arrive at an out-of-date and inadequate station,” said the statement.
“There has recently been a political and media focus on Manchester as a Northern powerhouse, whilst Birmingham has benefitted from a £750m overhaul of New Street station in recognition of its strong economic growth.
“Here in the South West we are waiting for similar investment in Bristol Temple Meads, our regional rail hub and main gateway to the South West and Wales.
“The West of England – an area that comprises the four local authority areas of Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire – currently contributes an estimated £10 billion a year to the Treasury. This is more than any other region in the country outside of London.
“Of all the core city LEP regions nationally, the West of England is the most productive and provides 2.3% of England’s overall GVA. It is recognised internationally as a leader in industries such as aerospace, creative and high tech; earlier this year, Bristol and Bath was named the UK’s biggest tech cluster this year in a Tech Nation report.
“The region is driving innovation nationally, producing the highest number of start-ups in the UK, and is home to Europe’s number one business incubator, SETsquared. We also have the third strongest academic cluster in the UK, coming just behind Oxford and Cambridge. It is no surprise, therefore, that leading global organisations and companies are choosing to base themselves here, including Airbus, Aardman, the BBC’s world-famous Natural History Unit, Toshiba Labs and GKN Aerospace, to name but a few.”
The statement says Temple Meads is one of the last major city centre mainline railway stations not to have been refurbished to 21st century standards – yet it is located in one of the most productive and economically strong city regions in the UK.
Investment in Temple Meads offers the opportunity to change this – it presents massive potential to drive productivity growth and deliver enterprise-led city centre regeneration at the same time and ahead of what can be delivered through HS2.
The iconic station, built in 1840 by Brunel, saw 9.5 million passengers travelling through it in 2014.
