Agenda item

Discussion item with invited representatives from Campaign to Reopen the Ivanhoe Line (CRIL) and Network Rail

The Chair welcomed the representative from the Campaign to Reopen the Ivanhoe Line (CRIL) and advised the Committee that the discussion to follow would contribute to a future report, and that she welcomed points for further inquiry from the Committee. A second session, she added, was planned, and would incorporate other stakeholders.

The representative from CRIL spoke to the Committee. He advised the Committee that the CRIL was a non-partisan campaign group to reopen the Ivanhoe Line between Ashby and Leicester. He set out what CRIL had done so far, procedurally, in their campaign to reopen the Line, including how they had attempted to work with various local stakeholders as well as with Central Government, who invited them to present a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC). This SOBC was submitted to the Central Government; it received strong feedback and was passed onto the next phase of the process, and Network Rail were invited to get involved.

The representative praised the work of Network Rail. He clarified for Members that so far, the planned work was more focused on the section of the Line from Derby to Coalville. He was very confident that national approval for this would be attained.

Further work was planned to campaign for the phase between Coalville and Leicester. He outlined for the Committee the prospects of success in this aspect of the campaign. He advised the Committee on the various potential financial and practical hindrances to the second phase of the project. Furthermore, and further down the line, there was also various issues associated with connecting the envisaged Leicester South station to the main station at Leicester. In summary, the easy phase was Burton to Coalville, the harder phase was Coalville to Leicester, and the trickiest phase was developing the Line within Leicester city centre. Strategically, it was advisable to be pragmatic about what was on offer, even if it was an imperfect option at the moment, as it would provide immediate benefits and portend further development in the future.

A Member congratulated CRIL and concurred that the strategy of CRIL to campaign for the rest of the Line in tandem with the construction of the first phase of the Line was sensible. The representative from CRIL said that whilst it was always likely to have happened in phases, it would be better if the whole thing had been authorised simultaneously. As this had not happened, the campaign must continue to present a measured and united front to Central Government. CRIL hoped the Council would begin campaigning for phase two to begin as soon as possible.

A Member welcomed the work of CRIL and agreed with the suggestion that what was so far on offer was something that the Council should not turn down, and that the phased strategy was eminently sensible.

The Chair asked what other support CRIL required. The representative said the Council should reaffirm their wholehearted support for the project to whichever Government was in power after the next General Election. More practically and more immediately, the Council could also investigate how transport could be more holistically integrated if the entire project was completed, so to maximise use of the railway; they should also investigate how to incentivise and encourage the use of the railways amongst people who did not live within easy distance of the proposed stations.

A Member asked Officers how this project was coordinated by the Council, and whether there was an officer responsible for overseeing it, and the Head of Planning and Infrastructure advised Members on the role he played.

The Chair inquired how the best way to produce a holistically integrated transport network could be produced given the fragmentation of who was responsible for what, and the Head of Planning and Infrastructure assured the Committee that they would closely liaise with the County Council on this matter.

The Chair expressed some resident concerns that the proposed line might actually drive economic activity out of the district, inadvertently. In response, the Head of Property and Economic Regeneration advised that it would be important to highlight the improved transport links to potential businesses, therefore potentially expanding employment. His team would examine how the line could be best utilised to the benefit of the district.

The Chair asked if Members were satisfied that the second phase of the project would not be abandoned. CRIL advised the Committee that presenting the successes of the first phase of the project would be the greatest argument for the continuation of the second phase of the project.

A Member asked if the Ivanhoe Line could be considered within the Local Plan process and the Head of Planning and Infrastructure said that he would raise it with the Planning Policy and Land Charges Team Manager.

The Strategic Director of Place reminded Members that this was a discussion of great value which would contribute to a paper which would be brought to the Committee at a later date.

The Portfolio Holder for Infrastructure thanked the Chair for inviting him and CRIL for presenting the Committee with a thoroughly detailed case. He noted the strong support of the Alliance, the Labour Group, and cross-party at Leicestershire County Council. He broadly echoed the pragmatic strategy advocated by both CRIL and the Committee and suggested that the Council had already been following the proposed strategy of continuing to campaign ardently for phase two. It was also important to consider the Ivanhoe Line beside the Freeport and EMDevCo. He implored the representative to contact him from CRIL whenever he had any concerns or queries.

A Member welcomed cross-party support and suggested that the Portfolio Holder update the Committee on a regular basis on how the project was proceeding. The Portfolio Holder was happy to do so.

The representative from CRIL thanked Members for their time.

The Chair noted that this was an ongoing piece of work, and then thanked the representative from CRIL for his time and Members for their comments.