REGIONAL ASSEMBLY SAYS: "BRING BACK VALUE FOR MONEY RAIL GRANTS"

The South East England Regional Assembly Planning Committee is urging the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) to restore its funding to the Rail Passenger Partnership and Freight Facilities Grants, key small scale grants which help a wide range of rail projects across the region.

The SRA announced on 30 January in its updated Strategic Plan that it was cutting its funding to the Rail Passenger Partnership (RPP) and Freight Facilities Grant. (FFG) The RPP promotes integration with other transport at a local level and one recent example is the funding of new storage facilities for cyclists at rail stations across Kent, announced in July 2002.

Freight Facilities Grants are now well-established and support the shift of freight from road to rail. The CBI in the South East is particularly annoyed at the loss of FFG. Douglas Horner, Regional Assembly member for the CBI, said: "Grants for freight have been a highly successful means of getting more freight on rail. EWS, the largest rail freight operator, has calculated that over the past two years freight grants have saved around 767m lorry miles and have kept 2.000 lorries off the road.

"The result of this success is that many companies have begun to develop investment plans around securing these grants for new terminals, upgrades of facilities and links to terminals. The rug has now been pulled from under their feel, with no consultation, and the CBI is very disappointed with this. We have written to both the SRA and the Secretary of State asking them to reverse their decision."

Cllr Keith Mitchell, Chairman of the Assembly's Regional Planning Committee, said: "We are very disappointed that the SRA has chosen to cut funding to these very valuable grants. Both grant schemes deliver measurable and quite quick benefits for relatively modest outlays of money. It would be a great mistake to cancel a wide range of small improvements which build confidence in rail travel and give excellent value for money.

" We are asking the SRA and the Secretary of State to rescind its decision and restore funding to both programmes immediately, even if this means deferral of some other projects."

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