Help us save the trackbed for reopening and re-railing the Guildford-Horsham-Shoreham rail link

See this news story and support the railway please: https://www.wscountytimes.co.uk/news/people/transport-battle-looms-between-horsham-area-rail-and-canal-enthusiasts-2906317?fbclid=IwAR1sJZ0AVlVR2VXgMIrDceIs7NEVnEvrXueXkCd4kW4ALoo48h-MCTqARdw

The link you require for the present objection to the Wey & Arun Canal is as follows:https://weyarun.org.uk/content/briefing-sheet-faqs

As I expect you know, the Wey & Arun Canal Trust had already submitted its planning application to Waverley Borough Council and the deadline for any objections/comments. Please object by 11th July.

Meanwhile I provide the following details from that Council in regard to this planning application:

Waverley Borough Council,
The Burys,
Godalming,
Surrey,
GU7 1HR
Phone: 01483-523333
Email: consultation.planning@waverley.gov.uk

Reference No. - WA/2020/0004

Case Officer - Kate Edwards

We discern that the Brighton Main Line is reaching capacity in terms of usage and number of trains and it doesn't take much of a hitch to throw the services and overcrowding into chaos in normal times. At the same time, for good environmental reasons, there is a dire need to encourage people and goods more by rail as roads too are congested and heap up traffic to urban areas which have not the capacity to cope or land use availability to provide ever more urban sites for parking when demands for housing and employment abound also. 

We believe that rebuilding the rail link from Guildford-Cranleigh-Horsham-Shoreham would be beneficial and serve an end to end direct by rail travel demand which as current is largely unmet and enable a sustainable flow of people and spend to urban areas minus the traffic. Growth of development is a fact of life one way or another and the landscape changes over the years. 

Cycleways are flexible, you can divert them and design-in benefits in so doing and at one and the same time, where space allows, you can pit them on a wider trackbed based alongside a railway with suitable fencing. It need not be more of one against another, but a reasonable willingness to compromise may be better.

I attach a pamphlet and our latest newsletter for your kind perusal. The railway would give more options and flexibility and enable more land conservation than less. Otherwise it is a string of bypasses and eventual joining up to trunk or motorway standards. London - Brighton Mark 2 is welcome by us (Tonbridge-Brighton via Uckfield) but that only deals with the eastern flank of the Brighton Main Line and associated roads. The Guildford-Shoreham line, integrated with Horsham would enable Reading to Gatwick from the south via Horsham and Crawley. Likewise, the Arundel curve would enable Crawley/Horsham trains to go onto Brighton via the south coast direct, saving the issues around Three Bridges and changing. Keeping trains moving, clears platforms for other trains to access, enabling more.

We need more capacity on and off the rails. Please give us you support. The government has a Rail Reopenings Fund which enables councils via their MP's to bid for funds to study proposals. We ask your help to put pressure on adjoining councils to ensure a. the old route and connection lands are protected from obstruction. Deviations are needed at Cranleigh already. b. to round table supportive councils, agencies and MP's and get them to bid for funding and commission a study which could look at demand, engineering and wider benefits. West Sussex may think it a ANOB rural landscape, but people wanting to get through it to and from the South Coast will increasingly drive in the absence of a rail link as they do now and again, we are not against the cycle way but want a flexible reinterpretation to enable a shared corridor with the railway.

Once the rail link is in the running, planning can then adapt to the new opportunities. More of the same without better rail links seems unsustainable to us. You are not alone, many areas are waking up to the fact the closures of the 1960's went too far, isolated communities and hindered joined-up travel. We want to save people having to go into and out of London every time at cost and timne duration, changing and inconvenience. Guildford-Cranleigh-Horsham-Shoreham gives more direct travel options including Heathrow via Guildford and hopefully these kinds of things can lure more out of cars, cut congestion, reduce exhaust emissions and keep the country moving at one and the same time. This is not revolutionary, rather it is simple choice and people will tend to use what is available. 

In normal times, we table meetings and forums around the areas and my colleague Mr Simon Barber can be contacted for inclusion in details of future opportunities as and when and where lock-down permits. If you want to get emailed our pdf pamphlet please send requests to richard.erta@gmail.com or see our publicity page on our website. This is the time for action! Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Pill

ERTA Chairman

https://www.ertarail.com/publicity-page  

Please object to this canal intrusion to the railway route: https://weyarun.org.uk/content/briefing-sheet-faqs

We are not against waterways per se, but in this case, reopening the railway would be far greener, as it will cater for hundreds of people every day getting from a to b in semi fast timings for work, visiting and general by rail travel use. By all means contact us if you have any wish to discuss further. richard.erta@gmail.com Join our free email loop.

This consultation apparently closes on Saturday,11 July 2020