KEIGHLEY’S dilapidated mainline railway station faces major delays to its refurbishment, with the forecasted renovation budget of £370,000 ballooning to more than £1 million.

Network Rail announced in May 2015 the station would receive an upgrade in 2015/16, but the company says further investigation has revealed more repairs are needed than previously thought.

“The bridges which support the station need strengthening, which has significantly increased the project’s cost. For this reason the work has been put back into the next funding period which begins in 2019," a spokesman said.

“The £370,000 earmarked for this has been rolled over to 2019. The project’s overall cost is now over £1million.”

Keighley Conservative MP Kris Hopkins has criticised the company and written to its chief executive asking why the additional work was not identified and made public earlier.

“I want to know what action Network Rail is taking to improve the shabby look of the station. It’s the gateway to Keighley for thousands of visitors, and its appearance is unacceptable," he added.

Problems at the listed building include cracked glass panes, plants growing out of gutters, neglected woodwork and peeling paint.

Confirmation of the delayed renovation came after former Keighley mayor and and veteran transport campaigner Graham Mitchell complained about the building.

"The station looks sad, scruffy and uncared for," he said.

"A wall in the booking hall is in a dreadful state due to water getting in. The canopy at the front has grass growing out of it and a lot of the glass is cracked and dirty.

"Electric buttons on the doors of the platform one waiting room haven't been working for weeks, which suggests the room doesn't comply with disability access legislation."

Reacting to news that the planned refurbishment has been put back to 2019, he added: "I'm not sure the bulging plaster in the booking hall will last that long. I'm extremely disappointed on behalf of the people of Keighley."

Tim Calow, chairman of Aire Valley Rail Users' Group, said: "Our overall impression is that while some work has been done to keep the station reasonably smart on the surface, nothing of real substance has been done. It needs a big refurbishment."

A spokesman for Northern, the station's main tenant, said: "We'll work closely with Network Rail to scope further developments at Keighley station in future.

"We have a zero tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour. We work closely with British Transport Police to deter such incidents. Whilst they are rare, we take them very seriously."

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