CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK MISSES A TRICK ON MEDWAY TOWNS

DOMESTIC SERVICES ON THE CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK SHOULD OFFER MORE REGENERATION BENEFITS TO THE MEDWAY TOWNS, the South East England Regional Assembly has warned.

The Assembly's Regional Planning Committee has agreed the Assembly's response to the SRA's consultation on options for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) domestic services. The consultation document set out six options for the services. The 'core' option proposes four trains per hour into London from Gravesend and two each from Canterbury and Folkestone Central during peak hours and half that service during off peak periods. The five other options are extensions to this 'core' route.

In its response to the consultation, the Regional Assembly:

• Highlights the importance attached by Government to delivering domestic services in order to support regeneration in the Thames Gateway and improve access to existing regional centres such as Ashford.
  
  
• Supports the SRA's core option as it represents the most realistic option if services are to be running in 2007.
  
  
• Raises concerns about the narrowness of the SRA's appraisal of the options. The Assembly feels that the appraisal is heavily biased towards transport impacts and fails to pick up the wider benefits arising from investment in the services.
  
  
• Wants the SRA to commission further work to examine in greater detail the potential economic and social benefits of extending domestic services through to Medway and the Isle of Thanet.
  
  
• Stresses the importance of the SRA working with the Regional Assembly and other key stakeholders in developing the service specifications for the new integrated South East franchise.

Cllr Keith Mitchell, Chairman of the Regional Planning Committee, said: "The Assembly believes that the SRA's 'core' option is realistically the only one upon which the SRA will be able to present a sound business case to Ministers. However, we do think that the SRA should also take a closer look at the benefits of extending the domestic services to Medway and Thanet.

"A recent study commissioned by both Kent County Council and Medway Council has suggested that extending domestic services to Medway could be introduced at a significantly lower cost than the SRA has previously assumed. This extended service to both the Medway towns and the Isle of Thanet would go a long way to facilitating the regeneration of both these parts of Kent and therefore the Assembly urges the SRA to pursue this option."

Contact

Lesley van Dijk, PR Executive - 01483 555223

Alex Butlin, PR Executive - 01483 555221

Notes to editors:

1. The Regional Assembly is the “voluntary regional chamber” for the South East. It was established in January 1999 to give a representative voice to the South East region which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, and Surrey.
2. The Assembly is made up of 111 members including elected councillors nominated by the region’s local authorities and 37 representatives from other sectors of the community (including business, trades unions, education, housing, health, sports, culture, tourism, faith groups, environmental, community and voluntary organisations).
3. The Assembly has three areas of core business:
1. It is the representative voice of the South East, engaging and representing its member organisations and, through them, the wider public.
2. The Assembly has a specific role under the Regional Development Agencies' Act 1998 to ensure the accountability of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to the region.
3. The Assembly has been the Regional Planning Body for the South East since April 2001. It has responsibility for proposing strategic planning and transport policies to Government.

Last updated: 21 August 2007