COUNCILLORS have unanimously agreed to investigate the business case for re-opening a train station in Grove.

Liberal Democrat county councillor Bob Johnston called on council officers to investigate the cost and funding available to develop the case.

He argued that a new station would reduce damage to roads, shorten travel times for commuters and improve access to education for young people.

Mr Johnston asked council officers to reach out to Network Rail and the Department for Transport to discuss the inclusion of a Wantage/ Grove station in the former’s next control period for funding which begins in 2019.

Putting his case to a meeting of the full county council in Oxford yesterday morning he said: "The station will reduce wear and tear on local roads and reduce commuting time between the rapidly growing communities in South Oxfordshire.

"It will also improve access to skills and education for those aged between 16 to 19 and adults living in those parts of the county."

Fellow Lib Dem and ward councillor for Wantage and Grove Jenny Hannaby was supportive of the motion, noting the "huge amount of houses but very little infrastructure" the area has seen in recent years.

She said: "We need to get people off the roads and on the rails and get them moving.

"It is an aspiration we’ve had since we lost the station."

Residents have long wanted to re-open a railway station at the site of the former Wantage Road Station, just north of Grove by the Volunteer Pub, which closed in 1964.