A new car park with nearly triple the capacity of its predecessor has been opened at Attleborough train station.

The transformation was part of a partnership between Greater Anglia and Norfolk County Council, which contributed £400,000 to the £900,000 project.

With only 30 spaces in the old car park, the station now has space for 81 cars including five accessible parking spaces.

There is also designated parking for five motorcycles and future provision for electric car charging, as well as LED lighting and CCTV.

The new car park opened on September 29 but was officially opened by the mayor of Attleborough, Philip Leslie, on Monday, November 8.

He was joined by representatives of Greater Anglia and TPSS, the contractor which carried out the work.

Mr Leslie said: “We’re delighted that following the recent restoration of our historic station buildings to their former glory our community can benefit from an almost tripling of parking spaces at our train station. What’s more is they’re available at a very reasonable daily rate of £3.

“I would like to thank Greater Anglia for these considerable improvements, including additional accessible parking, provision for electric car charging, new LED lighting and CCTV.

“It is essential that our community has access to more sustainable transport, with this being is a key component of our greener future.”

The work was phased to keep as many parking spaces as possible available for key workers and people making essential journeys by train during the pandemic

The much larger car park was achieved by removing two dilapidated buildings, as well as some tree stumps and vegetation creating a new wall boundary.

Simone Bailey, Greater Anglia’s asset management director, said: "I’d like to thank Attleborough Town Council, station users and all the partners involved in this project for their support and patience during this upgrade.

"As Attleborough continues to grow, we’re pleased that we have been able to extend the car park so that we have the capacity to encourage more sustainable journeys, helping to reduce the pollution and congestion caused by cars.”