PLANS for a 'vital' new railway station in Flintshire are set to be debated in parliament this week.

On Friday, January 28, MP's will host a debate to discuss a potential new station at Greenfield.

The town has been without a service for rail passengers since the Holywell Junction station in nearby Greenfield closed in 1966.

Located on the old Holywell Junction station site in Greenfield, a new station would provide a long term and sustainable driver for the future economic wellbeing of Holywell and North Flintshire linking in with the local Active Travel Plan.

One of those who has long campaigned to see the return of a railway line in the area is Delyn MP Rob Roberts, who will be taking part in the debate on Friday.

He said: "The Greenfield Station project was something that I campaigned on in GE2019, and others have been working on the concept for a great deal longer than that. I give particular credit to Cllr Barry Scragg of Holywell Town Council who has led the way on the issue over the years.

"Much of Holywell and Greenfield is in the top 20% of the most deprived areas of Wales (some parts in the top 10%), and with those pockets of deprivation comes the obvious difficulty of not being able to afford the rising costs of running a vehicle to get to work. Addressing the fundamental causes of this deprivation is key, and one of those is the transport network.

"Studies have shown that only 8% of available jobs lie within half an hour’s public transport travel time of Holywell, with more than 160,000 vacancies coming into view within a 90-minute journey. Anything that can be done therefore to cut these journey times and make these jobs accessible in an affordable way should be a priority as we press forward with the UK Government’s “Levelling Up” agenda.

"I have long said that whilst we have tourism to the west, and light industry, manufacturing, Chester and Liverpool to the east, the main thing that we need the most in Delyn is good transport links to get people to jobs that are located to a large extent outside the constituency.

"A station in Greenfield at the site of the old Holywell Junction station that was closed in 1966 along with improved bus services from Greenfield up into the main Holywell hub would be transformative for the town and enable people to get to an increased number of better paid job opportunities.

"As well as also allowing others to come into Holywell to experience the fabulous sights of St Winifride’s Well and the Greenfield Valley which are well worth the trip. This would bring more tourism into the town which would further improve the economic outlook.

"All in all, it’s a vital project for the town and the wider region and I look forward to working with the Department for Transport and Network Rail to make the hopes of the people in CH8 a reality."

In September last year, the Welsh Government published its priority plans on the North Wales Metro project.

The plans want Transport for Wales to further improve the Wales and Borders network through the introduction of new trains, improve transport integration and connection at Shotton and Wrexham General, and general public transport improvements in and around the Deeside Enterprise Zone.

New stations at Greenfield, Broughton and Deeside Industrial Estate are also part of the plans.