FRESH fears over the future of Sankey for Penketh Station have been raised – but the council insists its 'commitment' to lobby for more services at the site 'remains unchanged'.

Earlier this year, Andy Moss started a petition to save Sankey for Penketh station following concerns that it could close due to the arrival of Warrington West Station in Chapelford.

More than 1,200 people have signed the petition and Andy, who grew up in Great Sankey, has been in discussions with council chiefs to put forward his fears.

He said: "We have gathered over 1,200 signatures with the aim of saving the service currently offered at Sankey for Penketh Station, Penketh for Sankey Station will effectively close outside of one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening.

"Furthermore, in a recent communication from Warrington Borough Council (WBC) they state that negotiations with the rail network to improve on this are currently on hold due to council officers being busy finalising work related to Warrington West – to my knowledge these negotiations have been going on since July 2017, with little or no progress.

"WBC is a Labour council, which one would assume believes in 'for the many not the few'.

"Their actions relating to Sankey for Penketh would appear to be the exact opposite and will cost many in old Penketh and Sankey the use of a valuable resource.

"Communication with senior management has been poor and there appears to have been zero flexibility to genuinely try and find a fair and equitable solution for all residents."

WBC has responded to the latest concerns and has once again vowed to lobby the rail industry to push for an increase in services at the station.

A spokesman said: "Warrington West Station will offer improved facilities, more parking and better accessibility to the travelling public.

"It will also offer more and faster train services than are currently on offer in the west of Warrington.

"Our commitment to lobby for services at Sankey for Penketh Station remains unchanged and we will continue to push for an increase from the minimum service."