We covered a lot of ground at this month’s meeting and a number of actions came out of it. Here are some of the key pieces of news –
-
We have had a reply, from the Welsh Government’s minister responsible for Transport, Edwina Hart, to our recent letter. Mrs Hart informed us that she is aware of our campaign and that MAGOR’s aims are being considered by her team. We now have a name of one of her senior officials that we can liaise with.
-
We have been informed that a ‘new station fund’ will be available for England and Wales from sometime in 2016.
-
Railfuture has now responded to our request for a grant toward the cost of the GRIP study. They apologised that they had been slow to respond but assured us that a decision would be made soon.
-
Also on the ‘fund seeking front’ we have had an update from Great Western Railway about our application to their ‘customer and communities improvement fund’ and also we have submitted an ‘expression of interest’ (for funding) to the ‘Vale of Usk LEADER programme’. We are keeping our fingers crossed in both cases.
-
There was a good piece about ‘Magor station’ in John Griffith’s (AM) November Newsletter – Thank you John.
-
We have been made aware of a number of reports that have recently been published that we should be aware of and possibly comment on as recommendations could impact on our aims. For example the ‘‘The Shaw Report’‘ – about the future of Network Rail.
-
We have been working closely with officers of Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) following our ‘Promotion Event’ in September. Our appreciation and thanks go to Mark Hand (Head of Planning) and David Wong (Area Planning Support Officer). Also, Scott James who has advised us on procuring the GRIP stages 1 and 2 report (Guide to Rail Investment Process).
-
Mr Richard Davies of the Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations (GAVO), on behalf of MCC, has consulted us and other parties who have an interest in the Three Field Site. We are keen to see the asset transferred back to the community and that a multi-use hub/community centre (that could also add value to a station) be developed on the site as soon as possible.
-
We have also been asked, by Caldicot Councillor, Alan Davies, if we would like to join Severnside Programme Board’s Transport Development team. We are very pleased to take up that offer.
-
Finally, we are gearing up to be at the Frost Fayre on 12th December, Magor Square. See you there!
Paul
SUMMARY OF DECEMBER MEETING (17/12/15) WILL APPEAR HERE SOON
