Q-I4.1: Should we include a policy to safeguard specific infrastructure schemes within the SWLP?
The Stratford-upon-Avon South Western Relief Road (SWRR) is a key strategic road to help inform the delivery of development south of Stratford-upon-Avon. In part this will support the delivery of LMA and therefore it is considered appropriate a specific policy is included in the emerging Local Plan that continues to safeguard this road. That being said the delivery of some phases of LMA can continue and therefore such a policy should not prejudice its delivery. Similarly, the former railway line between Stratford-upon-Avon and LMA is safeguarded within Policy CS.26 of the existing Stratford-upon-Avon Core Strategy and should also be carried forward as part of the emerging Local Plan, tying into our support for development along Rail Corridors. Doing so will ensure that sustainable links are delivered to support the growth of LMA outside its current allocation. That being said, the same applies above insofar that the delivery of the additional development at LMA is not reliant on the former railway line coming into use.
Q-I4.1: Should we include a policy to safeguard specific infrastructure schemes within the SWLP? At present National Highways is unable to provide a view, based on the limited evidence based developed at this stage of the local plan. However, National Highways would welcome early engagement with the local planning authorities and local highway authorities to identify the infrastructure needs and schemes for where safeguarding maybe required or alternative delivery mechanisms are identified.
1). I fully support the safeguarding of the railway south of Stratford-upon-Avon station, the six miles to Long Marston, where it would join the three miles existing railway to Honeybourne, where it would join the Cotswold Line. The section south of Honeybourne to Broadway is also protected. Between Broadway and Cheltenham Racecourse, services are operated by the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Steam Railway, a Heritage Railway. The Heritage railway has aspirations to reach Honeybourne to connect not only with the Cotswold Line, but with a reopened Stratford-upon-Avon - Honeybourne railway. This is why the Heritage railway has retained Warwickshire in its title, although it only operates in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire , at the present time,. At Honeybourne Network Rail has made passive provision for a platform to serve the steam railway. The track bed between Broadway and Honeybourne is owned by Railway Paths Limited, a subsidiary of Sustrans and the company has offered the track bed to the GWSR for a nominal sum. However, the GWSR cannot afford to accept the offer, as five of the eight bridges on the route are in a very poor condition, with an estimate of £12 to £15 million to repair them. However, if both the Stratford-Honeybourne railway railway and the GWSR can be connected to Honeybourne, then this would become a major tourist attraction accessible by rail, as well as by road. Then the summer Shakespeare Express between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon could be extended to say Broadway, on the GWSR, and perhaps be renamed the Shakespeare and Cotswolds Express ? A real tourist attraction. 2). Surely with the need to reduce car dependency, there is a strong need to reopen Stratford-upon-Avon to Honeybourne railway with direct new services to Long Marston, Moreton-in-Marsh, Kingham, Charlbury, Hanborough, Oxford, Reading (for road service to Heathrow, rail service to Gatwick and the Elizabeth Line, as well as services to Southampton and the south and services to the west of England and south Wales), Slough, for Windsor, and London Paddington (for the Heathrow Express, four tube lines and the Elizabeth line), in one direction, while in the other direction to Long Marston, Honeybourne, Evesham, Pershore, Worcestershire Parkway (for Cheltenham, Bristol, Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth and the west of England and also to Gloucester, Chepstow, Newport, Cardiff, Swansea and south Wales), Worcester (Shrub Hill and Foregate Street), Malvern, Ledbury and Hereford. There is also the possibility of a circular service from Stratford-upon-Avon, to Evesham, Worcestershire Parkway, Worcester (Shrub Hill;), Kidderminster, Droitwich, Stourbridge junction, Birmingham (Snow Hill and Moor Street), and back to Stratford. 3. Not only that with the reopening it would be essential to have a station at Long Marston, preferably in Station Road, serving the Garden Village (Fernleigh Park), Meon Vale, and other developments amounting to over 6,000 new homes, not to mention the vast Porterbrook Rail Innovation Centre. 4). The B.4632 road and Clopton Bridge in Stratford town centre will be totally incapable of coping with the traffic from these major developments. Not only that the villages of Long Marston, Welford-on-Avon, with its two single lane sections, and Binton are being used as a rat run to avoid the B.4632 and Stratford town center to reach the A.46 and beyond. A survey in Welford showed 700 vehicles per hour were travelling through the village in peak hours and 600 per hour off peak, with only around 1,500 homes so far being built. This situation will only get far worse . Speeding is another problem in Welford particularly. Then Welford also suffers from medium air pollution, with all three main pollutants being over the World Health Organisation limits. 5). Stratford-upon-Avon will never have a good rail service while it remains a terminal station. Until the early 1960's Stratford enjoyed the daiily Cornishman to Cheltenham, Bristol;, Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance, as well as daily trains to Cheltenham, Gloucester. Cardiff and Swansea, In addition there were holiday trains, in the summer to places, such as Ilfracombe and Newquay. A twice a day Gloucester service replaced these services, which survived until 1968, while services to Honeybourne to Evesham were withdrawn, in 1969. 6). Again until the early 60's Stratford had a daily service to Cheltenham taking 30 minutes. Now passengers to Cheltenham have to travel 25 miles north to Birmingham Moor Street, walk to Birmingham New Street, 8 minutes, and then to travel south, the whole journey taking no less than 2 hours. If Stratford - Honeybourne was reopened a new service to Worcestershire Parkway could be introduced with just one change taking one hour. To make matters worse Cheltenham Lansdown station is situated nearly 1 1/2 miles from the town centre, as Cheltenham St. James, in the town centre, was closed in 1960's, as well as nearby Malvern Road station. Such is progress. Surely Stratford-upon-Avon needs a direct service to Cheltenham, as the centre of the Cotswolds. 7). Stratford-upon-Avon is a major international tourist destination, with some 3,500 vistors annum and 5,000 to the wider Shakespeare country, and yet is served by a most appalling rail service to and from London Marylebone, with only one through train in each direction on Mondays to Fridays, and none on Saturdays and Sundays. The through train from Marylebone leaves at 6.17 a.m and is a stopping train taking 2 hrs.26 mins. In the opposite direction the through train from Stratford leaves at 21.35, again it is stopping train and arrives at Marylebone 23.58 taking 2 hrs 23 minutes. At all other times passengers have to change, which could be at Leamington, Solihull, Dorridge, Hatton, Birmingham Moor Street ( 25 miles north to go south), or in one case at both Leamington and Hatton. Also listed in the timetable are several trains requiring changing at Birmingham Moor Street, walking 8 minutes to Birmingham New Street and then travelling to London Euston. The Saturdays Service is no better, while the Sunday service is slightly better in that most trains involve a change at Leamington, although there is still one train, in each direction, involving a change at Birmingham Moor Street. The last train on Sundays, from Marylebone to Stratford is quite early at 18.00. The last train from Stratford to Marylebone is at 20.36, taking 3 hrs. 18 mins. changing at Leamington. However using the same departure time and changing at Leamington and Reading you can arrive in London Paddington, rather than Marylebone, you can knock 24 minutes off the journey time. In the 1990's Stratford-upon-Avon had direct services to London Paddington via Oxford and Reading, the tourist route, operated by Thames Trains, before the Department for Transport, in their wisdom, allowed Chiltern Railways to take over. With only 6% of tourist passengers to Stratford-upon-Avon using rail, as compared with 13% to similar tourist destinations, it is obvious that the town needs a service to London Paddington, particularly as Marylebone has only one tube line, the Bakerloo line, compared with Paddington, which has four tube lines, plus the Elizabeth line. The obvious route is to reopen south of Stratford-upon-Avon to Honeybourne, with direct trains via the Cotswold line to Oxford and Paddington, and in addition serving the major developments at Long Marston. 8). The reopening of the Stratford-upon-Avon - Honeybourne route, together with the Cotswold Line, would provide an alternative/diversionary route between Birmingham and Oxford. This route would have been invaluable, in 2015, when the railway line between Leamington Spa and Banbury was closed for six weeks, in 2015, due to a major landslip at Harbury. In addition the route could also become part of an alternative/diversionary route for the Midland main line between Birmingham and Cheltenham Spa, avoiding the 1 in 37 Lickey incline, the steepest main line in the U.K. Back in 2016 Network Rail announced the Lickey route was virtually up to capacity and they were looking for an alternative route. No decision has yet been made. The 30 mile Birmingham - Stratford-upon-Avon - Cheltenham line was the alternative/diversionary route for the Lickey route until August 1975, when a landslip at Winchombe derailed a freight train, causing considerable damage. This resulted in a decision to close the line completely between Stratford and Cheltenham, except for the short three mille stretch between Long Marston and Honeybourne, to serve the then Quinton Rail Technology Centre, now known as the Porterbrook Rail Innovation Centre. The decision to close the line was the cost of reinstating the damaged section, estimated at £ 1.273 million. Although British Rail was keen to repair the damage, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Denis Healy declined the money needed, as he had had to apply to the IMF to bail him out of the then Labour Government's financial difficulties. This was a sad day for Stratford-upon-Avon, as the town was deprived of its through rail route and became a branch line terminal. 9). IN CONTRAST to the Stratford-upon-Avon rail service, it is absolute disgrace that even Honeybourne station has a far better rail service, with regular trains to London Paddington taking around, on average only 1 hour 40 minutes, with a mainly hourly service every day including Saturdays and Sundays, with no changes involved, unlike Stratford. On Mondays to Fridays there are 18 trains from Honeybourne the first departure at 05.42 and the last departure at 23.18. In the opposite direction there 16 trains from Paddington , there are 16 trains to Honeybourne, with the first departure at 05.50 and the last departure at 21.50. On Saturdays there are 18 trains from Honeybourne to Paddington, with the first departure at 06.42 and the last departure at 21.49. In the opposite direction are 16 trains from Paddington to Honeybourne, with the first departure at 05.50 and the last departure at 21.50. On Sundays there are14 trains from Honeybourne to Paddington, with first departure at 08.45 and the last at 21.30. In the opposite direction there are also 14 trains from Paddington to Honeybourne, with the first departure at 08.43 and the last at 21.46. 10). Back in 1987, the then British Rail, had aspirations for the existing Nottingham - Leicester service to be extended to Nuneaton, Coventry, Leamington Spa (reverse) and Stratford-upon-Avon. Sadly this was never implemented. One of the problems then were pathing trains on the various single line sections and providing connections at Leicester, Nuneaton, Coventry and Leamington Spa. Not only that track work was needed to enable the reversal movement, to take place, was required to be implemented at Leamington Spa. As British Rail commented at the time, all a nightmare, with considerable costs involved. Now Midlands Connect still have an aspiration for a Nottingham - Leicester - Nuneaton - Coventry service, and possibly on to Kenilworth and Leamington Spa. No mention of Stratford-upon-Avon, but surely should be most important, as such a service would parallel the A.46, and help to reduce traffic congestion on that route. Not only that such a service could continue south of Stratford, with the reopening of the Stratford-upon-Avon - Honeybourne line, again continuing to parallel the A.46, at least as far as Evesham and even beyond if a new junction could be constructed with the Birmingham - Cheltenham main line. and on to Ashchurch, where the A.46 joins the M.5.
i. The route safeguarding of the railway south of Stratford upon Avon station to Honeybourne is supported and consistent with National Planning Policy Guidance, 2021, para 106. ii. Stratford District Council, (together with Wychavon, Cotswold, Tewkesbury and Cheltenham Councils), has consistently safeguarded the route of the former Stratford-Long Marston-Oxford/Worcester/Cheltenham railway line, for reinstatement of the railway in its Local Plan since 1992, in which the western half of the former trackbed was protected for reinstatement of a single track railway and the eastern half for the cycleway/pedestrian Greenway. iii. The Stratford Core Strategy Inspector’s Report, 2016, considered that reinstatement of the southbound rail link would:- “provide a long-term solution to the town’s traffic congestion.” (248-257). “There can be no question that the service would provide a sustainable alternative to the use of the private car for many residents and Visitors.” iv. The South Warwickshire Local Plan therefore needs to be proactive and actively support reinstatement of the Stratford-Honeybourne railway. To do otherwise would be against the Core Strategy Inspector’s Report Recommendations. v. A key objective of the Local Plan must be to reduce the car dependency by south Warwickshire residents to access these rail services and a key objective of the Stratford Transport Strategy, 2018. Restoration of the southbound rail link from Stratford-upon-Avon to the North Cotswold Line must be a key priority of the South Warwickshire Local Plan to achieve this objective. vi. The ‘Long Marston Airfield Garden Village – Expression of Interest, July 2016’, Stratford DC/Cala Homes, contained 12 positive references to the benefits of reinstatement of the Stratford-Honeybourne rail link. It formed the basis for the Government’s subsequent granting of Garden Village status in 2017. It will deliver 3,500 homes/8,750 people. The Stratford-Honeybourne corridor, already has a committed population of 25,000 people. vii. Road transport is already responsible for 80% of Nitrogen Dioxide emissions, which kill over approximately 29,000 deaths UK pa are linked with air pollution associated with road traffic. Rail accounts for 1.6%. viii. Road traffic currently accounts for 72% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport (73% of passenger-kilometres), aviation accounts for 14% (8% of passenger-kilometres), and rail accounts for less than 1% (6% of passenger-kilometres).* * European Environment Agency (2019), ‘Share of transport greenhouse gas emissions’, data visualization.
Yes, but this should be subject to continuing review of the appropriateness of the protected schemes. Just because a scheme is safeguarded should not automatically mean that it should have priority in respect of implementation throughout the plan period, nor preclude identification of further schemes should the decision be made to proceed with a two-part plan.
Yes, but this should be subject to continuing review of the appropriateness of the protected schemes. Just because a scheme is safeguarded should not automatically mean that it should have priority in respect of implementation throughout the plan period, nor preclude identification of further schemes should the decision be made to proceed with a two-part plan.
No answer given
No answer given
The current local plans seek to safeguard land to help facilitate the delivery of a number of key infrastructure projects across South Warwickshire. Within Stratford District, this includes (amongst others) the route of the former railway south of Stratford-upon-Avon to Honeybourne to facilitate its re-opening and the Stratford South Western Relief Road. 3.12 The Church Commissioners supports the safeguarding of these infrastructure projects and submits that this protection should continue forward into the new South Warwickshire Local Plan.
No answer given
To tackle the climate emergency and create vibrant local communities, the focus must shift from large road projects to developing active travel options locally. Therefore there should be no infrastructure safeguarding for road projects, but there should be safeguarding of land for future strategic cycle routes, for example.
Land at Leek Wotton is not dependent on any infrastructure that might be so substantial so as to warrant safeguarding.
North Warwickshire have in certain circumstances in the Local Plan Policy proposals indicated the need for, or requirement for safeguarding for Infrastructure requirements or potential schemes, where they are essential to help support and deliver the development proposed in the Plan.
It is important to safeguard infrastructure projects necessary for the delivery of future developments. However, a level of flexibility should be included to ensure that future progress on these infrastructure projects is not overly constrained or onerously limited, especially where delays may adversely impact the delivery of residential, commercial or industrial development proposals. Care must be taken in allocating land for residential, commercial or industrial development that is dependent on the delivery of strategic infrastructure. Where such sites are allocated, they should be placed towards the back of any delivery trajectory.