Agenda item

To consider and note the Wisbech Rail Update.

Councillor Mason welcomed Tim Bellamy to the meeting.

Tim Bellamy provided an update on Wisbech Rail and provided some context around the local transport and productivity plan.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

1.    Councillor Hay said that if the final decision is to go with heavy rail then that is dependent on the Ely Area Capacity Enhancements (EACE), and she asked what the time frame would be for EACE. Tim Bellamy responded that the good news is that he attended a meeting of the all-parliamentary group two weeks ago hosted by Transport East. They outlined that their highest priority scheme is EACE, and they are actively trying to encourage a discussion with the Department for Transport and other MPs from across the country that recognise that EACE is the right answer. He cannot provide a timeframe, but positive sounding is coming from government along with the fact that they have secured additional funding from the Combined Authority to do further work on the snail rail loop which will also help with movement into Newmarket etc. 

2.    Councillor Hay said if at the end of the options assessment it is decided to go down the route of light rail, how easy would it be to convert to heavy rail later as and when the capacity at Ely is large enough to be able to do that. Her concern is that light rail is an inferior service. Tim Bellamy said that the costing to convert to heavy rail would need to be outlined in the report to allow an informative decision to be made. Councillor Hay said she was pleased to hear that.

3.    Councillor Booth said he is disappointed with the content of the report because there seems to be one delay after another. This was first discussed when he was elected to the Council twelve years ago. It is his view that the report seems to be saying there are deficiencies in the 2020 business case because we are having to fund additional research and do more work on what is required to get funding. Tim Bellamy replied that is not correct because things have changed since 2020. All work needs to be updated to reflect changes in government policy. The business case outlined in 2020 was coherent and appropriate at the time but now more work needs to be done to satisfy what both Network Rail and government require to make sure the business case submitted is robust, appropriate, and not open to challenge.

4.    Councillor Booth said if this additional work goes ahead, costing £310k of taxpayers’ money, he would like to know what the next stages are, how much more money will be spent on consultants and how long it will be before Fenland residents can travel between March and Wisbech and Wisbech and Cambridge. Tim Bellamy responded that there is a staged approach to delivering any infrastructure scheme, but the money mentioned will not be spent on consultants. This will be spent by Network Rail and the experts within Network Rail who know how to deliver these types of schemes, so it will not be spent on external resources. He is happy to outline the next stages and how that will go forward but he could not currently advise on costs. Councillor Booth asked what the normal timescale would be to deliver from beginning to end. Tim Bellamy replied that light rail or an alternative could be delivered within the next five to ten years, but if looking at heavy rail, then that links back to EACE and other issues and may well be a longer-term operation. The lower cost option is more likely to be delivered but is that what we want as a collective, do we want to deliver something and improve that connectivity or do we want to hold out for longer term and more expensive heavy rail? The Options Assessment Report will allow us to make that decision. Councillor Booth thanked Tim Bellamy.

5.    Councillor Miscandlon asked how much influence the problems at the Ely junction are having on the progress of any decision on Wisbech rail, as nothing ever seems to get resolved. Tim Bellamy replied that he believes there is some influence, but EACE is coming up the agenda quickly. Also, now that Sizewell on the Suffolk coast has been given the go ahead, EACE capacity will be needed to ensure getting the vast amount of construction material that will be required delivered to Sizewell along the rail network rather than by the A14.  With Sizewell being developed to provide an energy solution then to do that, it should be easy to verify some of that funding for EACE. Therefore, he does think Ely is an influence around anything on the rail network, but it is also a priority for many authorities and going up the government agenda. 

6.    Councillor Booth pointed out that under item 3.10 of the report, reference is made to Wisbech Garden town, but he understands this project has been abandoned because government considers the proposal not viable because of flood risk. Tim Bellamy thanked Councillor Booth, he noted this, and he would update accordingly. 

7.    Councillor Booth said that regarding the A47 upgrade, it seems from this report the chance of getting duelling is remote because of the BCR ratings and asked if this is correct. Tim Bellamy responded that the BCR rating is one of the lower ones within that programme and so he would say holding out the hope for dualling would be optimistic. The focus would be on safety improvement alignment and other things that can be done as quick wins. That is not to say that dualling should not be on the table going forward but a lot of work would need to be done to improve the BCR. In the meantime, there are quick wins that we are trying to promote through National Highways.

8.    Councillor Booth said in respect of smaller scale projects, the Guyhirn roundabout was delivered earlier this year. As part of that project, it was planned to place bus where they would prevent causing traffic holdups on the A47 which is currently what is happening. However, he cannot get an answer to what is happening with that project which appears to have dropped off the radar and asked Tim Bellamy if he had any information on this. Tim Bellamy replied he would find out and forward a response in due course.

Councillor Mason thanked Tim Bellamy for his attendance at today’s meeting and said the Wisbech Rail Update report is duly noted. 

(Tim Bellamy left the meeting).