PLANS for the new parkway rail station in Okehampton are expected to receive support from Devon County Council this week.

On Wednesday April 11 the county council cabinet was invited to support a plan for a small station, along with a car park and shared footpath and cycleway at the Opportunity Okehampton development site.

The county council purchased the 36-acre development site on the edge of the town last year for £1.8-million.

The aim is to attract businesses and employers to the town, and help fledgling businesses to grow in a long term effort to improve employment.

It is hoped the proposal to build a parkway station at the convenient location on the Opportunity Okehampton site will generate support for a regular commuter service between the town and Exeter, expanding on the current Sunday summer service.

The town council's own working group 'Destination Okehampton' met in March to discuss the railway, aiming to produce a strategy of its own to increase the chances of the return of a full time passenger service.