A former railway station in an expanding Ellesmere Port suburb should reopen, according to Nigel Jones, Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Ellesmere Port and Neston.

Cllr Jones, a borough councillor in the constituency, has called for the re-opening of Ledsham station between Capenhurst and Hooton.

One of the original stations on the Chester to Birkenhead line, it opened in 1840. The station closed after more than a century of service in 1959 from suffering a decline in passengers due to its location.

The platforms remained until the 1990s when they were affected by a realignment of the A550 Welsh Road. Now the Tory hopeful believes it’s time to re-open the train station to ease traffic congestion on key roads through Ledsham.

Conservatives point out Ledsham has been the target for 2,000 new homes on Ledsham Road and local residents have expressed concerns about the ability of road connections in the area to cope with the new people moving into the development.

Mr Jones said: “There are thousands of new homes on their way in Ledsham and it’s essential that we have the right infrastructure for new and old residents alike.

“The Ledsham station closed in 1959 but with so many new families and commuters moving in to the area it’s time to reopen it again and make it easier for people to travel to Liverpool and down to Chester.”

He continued: “I’m not going to be a politician who makes outlandish promises I can’t keep. But I’m also not going to be afraid of speaking out about the needs of our town.

“So whilst I can’t promise we’ll succeed, I’ll keep banging the drum for a reopened station in Ledsham.”

He has written to the chairman of Merseyrail making the case for the reopening of the station.