Notes from 09-07-2022 Meeting:
ERTA
Notes of Rugby Forum –
Saturday 9 July 2pm food, 3pm -5pm business Rupert Brooke, 8-10 Castle Street, Rugby, Warks.
CV21 2TP https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/all-pubs/england/warwickshire/rupert-brooke-rugby
Present: Cllr Peter James, David Ferguson, Simon
Barber, Richard Pill
Apologies: Cllr Tim Douglas, Cllr David Bill,
Adrian Carter, Richard Cooper
Preamble:
We had a loose
interpretation of the agenda, to discuss the way forward and the issues and
plan accordingly. It was agreed that the two schemes of Northampton-Market
Harborough (MH) and that of the Great Central (GC) should be dealt with under
one meeting, especially as North of Northampton and Rugby are concerned as are
both glaring gaps linking two principal main lines. If we are serious about
modal shift, we need these lines back in some form and order to enable that
rails to take more of the lion’s share of what business is on offer. ERTA and
colleagues would seek to do both under one meeting.
1.
The
two schemes are:
a.
Northampton-Market
Harborough and
b.
Great
Central corridor new build from Old Oak Common-Narborough (where it would link
to the existing Nuneaton-Leicester lines. ’b’ can be broken down to a Phase 1
focus of Rugby-Leicester/Nuneaton and the re-railing of Lutterworth and Magna Park – one
of the largest industrial depot complexes in Europe with no rail connection (a
planning oversight!). and ‘c’ south of Rugby to Calvert for connectivity to
east-west rail (Oxford, Bristol and Southampton arcingly) and those audiences –
people and goods to Leicester/East Midlands. That is more capacity (road and
rail). Bletchley-Northampton on West Coast Main Line (WCML) is premium and with
extra traffic from Oxford-Milton Keynes – East Croydon-MK Central has been
scaled back to Watford due to capacity constraints and Bedford-Bletchley also
is vying for access – then the GC re-railing idea makes more sense and is more
direct.
2.
Northampton-Market
Harborough (MH)
is shorter, has a road scheme being placed slap bang on it by West Northants
Unitary Council, which is a huge problem and set back. Likewise, a new
deviation south of MH is needed to link physically with the Midland Main Line
(MML). This link could:
a.
Bring
freight in by rail to Brackmills Industrial Estate, Northampton new rail-linked
depot and with a north-west curve, link direct into DIRFT.
b.
Enable
Southampton, Bristol and Oxford arc and all in between to Milton Keynes, Northampton
and Leicester/East Midlands and Felixstowe by rail and all in between
c.
Boost
both locations and have an intermediate station to serve Brixworth on the A508,
it would also provide rail-based competition to M1 and associated traffic
relief both ends and intermediate places.
3.
ERTA:
we are still relatively small, have upwards of 40 members scattered across the
English Regions and have many projects of a similar nature at varying stages to
deal with and are meagrely resourced. That means at best we can:
a.
Plant
ideas
b.
Work
with others to develop flyers and feed into meetings
c.
Need
able-others to lead, help head up and make contacts who can invest in these
ideas and take them further, growing in such wake, a consortium for delivery.
4.
Action
Stations and taking these projects forward:
It was decided that Cllr Peter James from Harborough
District Council would set up a meeting at MH to bring people together and
inform a regular meeting to:
a.
Appoint
a head-up advocate team or set of individuals
b.
Aim
to get councils and agencies of Midlands Connect and England’s Economic
Heartlands (EEH) on board
c.
Invite
a speaker of relevance for first 20 minutes with Q&A to draw them in for
support like Gazeleys, Maritime and others who may be willing to invest in the
projects, studies, enablement.
d.
ERTA
can help promote these meetings as ‘open to all’ but with a clear message, we
expect people to offer to help and be useful to advancing these projects.
e. Richard to draft potential diagrams and send to Cllr James for him to help find a willing volunteer to work them up for possible deployment on a flyer. Likewise, the flyer, once notified of the details of date, time, place of meeting in MH, would provide a flyer using what is available and Cllr James would help inform distributor volunteers. Every meeting could have a donations bucket and that could help fund printing costs and hall hire. Light refreshments would be provided. The meeting may concentrate to volunteers only committee style and lay foundations as a consortium.
5.
Other
Actions:
a.
David
to carry on leafleting on a regular basis whilst weather clement of Brackley,
Woodford and Hinton, Willoughby, Hillmorton and Braunston and Barby and finally
Rugby.
b.
Richard
to notify Lutterworth T.C. of the future Methodist Hall Meeting when Cllr James
notifies him of said details.
There being no other business, the forum ended at
15.25pm
Notes: Please encourage any interested people or organisations to email richard.erta@gmail.com to join our loop and/or
see our website for joining details/fill in a flyer. Membership and considering
what people are reliably willing to do is welcome.
The Executive Committee cannot be responsible to do it majoritively, to
work, it must come from local people. EEH Website is: https://www.englandseconomicheartland.com/
I attach the Rugby Forum Agenda. Simon to please bring spare copies. Please encourage others if you can to attend and make common cause with us/help take a lead.
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