Newcastle City Council has approved plans for a refurbishment of West Jesmond Metro station, with work expected to start in the spring.

Photograph by M Novak under creative commons licence

The works will include refurbishment of existing buildings, new awnings to protect passengers from the weather and improved access on the Lyndhurst Avenue side, according to Lynne Robinson of Nexus, which owns and runs the Tyne and Wear Metro.

The plans also include the installation of new ticket machines and barriers, to meet the demands of one of the busiest Metro stations outside the city centre. The introduction of gates will mean the station will be staffed in future.

The works will require the extension of the platform one concourse and enlargement of the opening to platform two.

The station is within a wildlife corridor, which means the trees and landscaping that will be lost as a result of the development must be offset by appropriate measures, according to NC1.7 F of the council’s Unitary Development Plan (UDP) policies. As a result, Nexus plans to replace the parking bays at the front of the station with further landscaping.

The council says that the loss of the parking area is acceptable, as it is privately owned.

The works are part of a £385 million project to modernise stations across the Tyne and Wear Metro. The council granted planning permission this week, subject to a set of seven conditions which are detailed here.