AN application for listed building consent for three braille maps and a drop-off shelter at Newton-le-Willows railway station has been approved.

The application for the site, on Mill Lane, has been given the green light by St Helens Council.

The officer report says the conservation officer raises ‘no objection’ to the proposal.

It added: “The conservation officer has been consulted and notes that the braille map and drop-off shelter to the south cannot be seen in the same view as the Grade II listed station building.

“They can, however, be seen in the view of the viaduct. The braille map will have no impact on the setting of the viaduct due to its limited size.

“The drop-off shelter may slightly interrupt some views, but this impact will be negligible due to the distance between the viaduct and the proposed shelter and their difference in scale.

“An existing drop-off shelter is already in situ near to the application site and the additional shelter will cause no harm.

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“Due to its location, the braille map at the bottom of the stairs providing access to the northern platform will also cause no harm to any historic fabric or the setting of either Grade II listed buildings.

“The second map which will be located near to the Grade II station building will be seen in the same view. However, again, its limited size and position under the canopy of the modern stairway means that its visual impact on the setting of the station building will only be negligible, at worst.”

Listed building consent has been granted, subject to conditions.

In the officer report, it says the ‘applicants consider that the works are permitted development and as such consider that planning permission is not required’.

Information in the decision notice document says the granting of listed building consent ‘does not constitute a determination that planning permission may or may not be required for the works listed in this application’.