Have your say on the future of transport in the North East - NECA consultation

The North East Combined Authority (NECA) has begun a consultation on a 20-year ‘Transport Manifesto’. The consultation will look at every aspect of Transport across the region. It will also crucially, help to empower this part of the North East and reinforce its position of being a national and international economic force.
People rightly demand a transport system that works for them, that is reliable, easy to use, and affordable. Now is your chance to ensure you have a say over how we move forward.

The manifesto team want to hear your thoughts and suggestions on potential developments. I strongly encourage everyone to have your say, on this once-in-a-life-time development. You can complete a questionnaire online through the NECA website: http://www.northeastca.gov.uk/ or call 01912771156 to have a paper copy posted out to you.
The closing date for responses is Friday 8th April 2016.

Dualling the A69 Meeting next Friday in Haltwhistle: come along + have your questions answered as our campaign to get the A69 dualled gathers momentum

Next Friday 15^th January, there will be a Stakeholder meeting at Haltwhistle Library on the dualling of the A69.

This will be a great opportunity, for anyone interested, to come down and hear a presentation from the Policy Lead at the Department for Transport, and have any of their questions answered.

The details of the meeting are: 1.30pm-3.00pm on Friday 15^th January, Room 2 Haltwhistle Library.
There is a further meeting with locals in Cumbria that afternoon.

A69 Meetings with both the Roads Minister and local representatives of Henshaw PC

Last week I was able to welcome Andrew Jones, MP, the Roads Minister to the A69, to highlight safety concerns, the need for road improvements and better connectivity from east to west. Ultimately we seek the dualling of the A69 but there is a consultation started with a proper feasibility study as reported by the Courant recently: http://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/Boost-for-A69-dualling-campaign-51b5eadc-6c38-4ff7-b94e-53cc7391c894-ds

I also met with representatives of the Henshaw Community and we are seeing what we can do on a local level to improve the road. There is much that can be done through the local Highways Agency, and the Northumberland County Council.

Good to see further progress being made on the Campaign to reopen Gilsland Station

http://www.thejournal.co.uk/campaigners-revival-northumberland-train-station-9272138

PM interview with the Journal provides tax and transport support for North East

http://www.thejournal.co.uk/north-east-analysis/analysis-news/newcastle-airport-wont-suffer-cuts-8877327

I have my "ticket" to Gilsland Station - it will happen in time, and progress is being made!

I literally bumped into Julie Gibbon last week. She is a tireless campaigner for the Campaign to Open Gilsland Station, and I was able to get my "ticket" to Gilsland Station.
This project is slowly moving forward, with assistance from Northumberland County Council, as we endeavour to fundraise the £30,000 to get to GRIP Stage 3 of the Network Rail process for Station Rebuilds. There is a large amount of support locally, and in the 2 local authorities, and I cannot praise Julie and the team at COGS enough - they are doing a great job. This project will happen eventually. We are pictured in the Bardon Mill Village Store and Tea Room - my usual Bardon Mill lunch pit stop.

A69 EPetition - please sign up and give support to help the campaign to get improvements west of Hexham to Carlisle

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/72020

Good to see my Campaign to Electrify the Tyne Valley Line is getting support

The Tyne Valley Line will only truly prosper if it is electrified. I am making the case to the Secretary of State for Transport and local organisations are getting behind the campaign. I have had a very good submission buy the Tyne Valley Rail Users Group and now the NCC have got behind the campaign which is good.
I held a debate on this issue in September in the House of Commons

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2014-09-03b.399.0&s=%28transport%29+speaker%3A24962#g399.2

The crucial passage on electrification is here:
Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough, Conservative)
I am really enjoying my hon. Friend’s speech and he has a well-deserved reputation as a local champion. I chair the Government’s electrification taskforce. Will he meet me outside this place to go through his proposals, so that I know much more about what is necessary for the line and can take his proposals forward within the taskforce?

Guy Opperman (Hexham, Conservative)

One of the best advances of the Secretary of State has been the creation of the electrification taskforce, and I am glad that a northern MP—in this case, the Member for Harrogate—is leading the way, such that we can make representations. The longer term must see electrification of the Tyne Valley line, as it sits between the east coast line and the west coast line, both of which are electrified. Frankly, without that forward movement we will struggle in the longer term, so I will meet my hon. Friend, as will other Members interested in this area, and I genuinely welcome his intervention.

Subsequently I have met Andrew Jones MP and as a result sent this letter to

      -         the  NE LEP
    -          Cumbria LEP
    -          NECC
    -          CUMBRIA Chamber of Commerce
    -          John Stevenson MP
    -          Tyne Valley Rail Users Group
    -          Northumberland County Council
    -          Cumbria County Council
     -          Northern Rail

 "As the MP for Hexham I have been making the case for improvement of the Tyne Valley Railway Line. It is crucial to the connectivity and future prosperity of the far North of our country. The key improvement would be electrification of the line. The line is 59 miles long between the two cities but this takes around 1 hour 30 minutes to traverse. Electrification would improve the speeds considerably. It is a key freight and commuter and tourist route that is vital to the future of the North and crucially it sits between the electrified East Coast Mainline and the electrified West Coast Mainline.  

The government has set up the Electrification Task Force to take submissions on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport. It is a cross party group of MPs, led by Andrew Jones, the MP for Harrogate. The MPs are assisted by DFT, Network Rail and have some back office support.

I have raised this case for electrification in parliament, most notably on the 3^rd September 2014 in the debate on Transport Infrastructure in Northumberland, the transcript of which is here: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2014-09-03b.399.0&s=%28transport%29+speaker%3A24962#g399.2 

I have today had that follow up meeting with Andrew Jones MP in the House of Commons and set out our plans in more detail. We have discussed the way ahead and he has made it clear to me that the door is still open to receive representations on this issue, albeit time is critical.

It is crucial that the case for electrification is made on a number of levels. I have therefore sent this letter to [The list of recipients above]. 

All, or some, of you may already have made a representation on this issue. If so, then please send me a copy so I can bring all submissions together. If you have not then please do so by Mid-November. It does not need to be long but a supportive 2 page letter would make a difference. If you can do a longer and more detailed submission this would be helpful.

Could you address your representations direct to:

Andrew Jones MP, Electrification Task Force, House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA
And copy me in at the House of Commons as well.

The criteria which this is being judged upon are numerous, but it is specifically not limited to ease of engineering as per Network Rail approach. The Group are particularly focusing on the:

-          the impact on the economy
-          and the case for connectivity.

If you have any doubts or issues then please feel free to contact my office in London on the number below but I stress that time is of the essence. It may be that you can expand upon your representations at a later date but I would be keen for those outline representations to be with the team by mid-November.”

Yours ever,

Guy Opperman MP

The Journal reports the story today here:

http://www.thejournal.co.uk/north-east-analysis/analysis-news/campaign-mounting-tyne-valley-railway-8124853
I am still chasing a couple of the submissions but am really pleased the NCC are on board.

North East Transport Debate in Parliament tomorrow at 9.30- I will be raising the A69, Tyne Valley Electrification and Gilsland

Bridget Phillipson, MP, has a debate tomorrow and I will try and speak and expand upon the debate I had on the 3^rd September 2014 = “Transport Infrastructure in Northumberland”: the transcript is here: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2014-09-03b.399.0&s=speaker%3A24962#g399.2

There are essentially 2 connectivity projects and 1 economic regeneration / connectivity projects that I am hopeful of getting support from the North East and Cumbria LEPs, Network Rail, DFT, and the respective County Councils. At the moment we are doing very well. I will have limited time but will be raising:

1. A69 dualling west of Hexham to Carlisle: our aim is to get this project into the 2016-2021 Funding round of upgrades. Both I and John Stevenson have met and made the case to the Secretary of State for Transport. I have a further Meeting with the Highways Agency plus Rory Stewart + John Stevenson – on the 4^th November at 11am in the House of Commons.
2. Tyne Valley Line: we are pressing for electrification to connect the electrified services of the East Coast and West Coast Mainlines. Again our concern is to get into the long term economic plan and its timetable as this will not happen for several years, but without getting into the plan it will never happen! I have the Minister Claire Perry coming to the North East and seeing the line in January. I have an Electrification Task Force meeting with Andrew Jones MP, its chair, on 27^th October at 16.00 in the House of Commons.
3. Gilsland Station rebuild: This is moving forward slowly but surely, and I have had recent discussions with key COGS leaders. They have a meeting with key Northumberland County Council leaders on Thursday October 16^th. to ensure that the NCC are fully behind the project. I recently met Network Rail and they are supportive albeit they are making the case for further work on the project management process called GRIP. 

The benefits in terms of rural economic development and tourism and connectivity again are significant.  Gilsland Station starts in Northumberland but ends in Cumbria. The Connectivity issues are well addressed in the One North report:

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/downloads/download/5969/one_north

Our Dual the A69 campaign gains force with 3 MPs now behind the campaign

http://www.thejournal.co.uk/north-east-analysis/hexham-mp-guy-oppermans-a69-7760572

On BBC Radio Newcastle tomorrow morning 8.20 talking about transport issues

Will be live tomorrow morning discussing the debate we are having in the Commons tomorrow evening and the work we are doing on everything from the Gilsland Station Reopening Project, see here: http://www.gilsland-station.org.uk/ which I fully support.
Plus the campaigns on road safety and A69 improvements, the need for an integrated "Oyster" card style ticket in our region and the work I am doing in many ways on the Tyne Valley Line. All in the usual 5 minutes of radio time! Tune in if you can.

Commons debate 3rd September on Transport infrastructure in Northumberland

On Wednesday September 3rd at 7pm I have the 30 minute Adjournment debate in the Commons; I applied in July to the Speaker and this debate was recently granted. The key issues I propose to raise I have been discussing with key local activists over the summer, including several members of the Tyne Valley Rail Users Group, and other activists concerned about the state of our roads in Northumberland. We also have a number of key bus issues to raise.
On trains I will be focusing on the rail infrastructure in Northumberland, focusing on the Tyne Valley Line between Newcastle and Carlisle, but I will also be addressing many other rail issues like the Gilsland and Bardon Mill stations.

Locals all know that with the Tyne Valley line:
- the rolling stock is old, there are issues on fares and and other issues and there is no Wi-Fi on the trains; we feel that the service is the poor relation of the Northern Train Network, notwithstanding a passenger increase; there are concerns as to the Northern Rail Franchise Consultation - noone wants to see lesser services.
I will be asking about the possible Designated Community Rail Service and what this means, in reality.
-  Gilsland Station rebuild: this is presently in the GRIP system but needs more Northumberland county council and network rail support. The old station was disbanded many years ago. Lots of the infrastructure remains and it would provide a massive boost to jobs, tourism and infrastructure if it were reopened. I am a big supporter.
- Rail crossing improvements – a Network Rail issue but we are looking to explore the future upgrades and improvements programme.
- I will also be raising the bridges controversy, notably the Bardon Mill proposed bridge, which I visited last week and spoke to residents and members of the Parish Council about.

Finally on trains I shall discuss the fact that the North East has no Oyster Card system for an integrated transport network system, as London and elsewhere does have and why this is the case.

On Roads I shall be raising A 69 Improvements west of Hexham leading to the Cumbrian Border. It is an accident black spot and I saw the Secretary of State for Transport on this issue last session; clearly money is tight but we want to know that we are in the queue for upgrades. Similar comments apply regarding the A696 safety improvements north of Ponteland. We will also be raising traffic safety elsewhere in Northumberland, and continuing to push for the A1 upgrades.

As always please get in touch with your comments, requests and suggestions. I have received many comments thus far over the last few weeks on many of these issues.  All thoughts very welcome.

Good to see the North East Combined Authority showing the region working together and not against each other

For too long the North East local areas and counties have fought each other like ferrets in a sack. The best example is the 4 separate applications for the Green Investment Bank, when Central Government invited bids for the location of the Green Investment Bank. So I am delighted that the Journal today reports the region coming together and supporting the 7 Local Authorities agreeing to act as one combined Noirth East Authority in order to:
- Pitch for big government and other infrastructure projects
- Make a concerted joined up case to big businesses and overseas investors
- Speak as one on key issues like apprenticeships, devolution and job creation
- And work towards both better transport infrastructure and an integrated transport policy - and the ultimate goal of an Oyster card universal payment system for transport across the region, as so successfully launched in London and the South East.
There is a model for this and this is Greater Manchester - which leads the way in joined up governnment. The Journal has covered this here today as follows:
http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/labour-mps-reluctantly-back-north-6933055

Two final points: firstly, it is important that this process frees up Unitary and County Councils to focus on the provision and delivery of core services - and not spend their time making 4 individual pitches for the Green Investment Bank, for example; I believe this will happen; and I made the case that this change must not lead to a loss of rural services, in particular rural bus services; myself and Councillors are working very hard to ensure that rural connectivity is not lost.

North East Local Authorities working together will bring jobs, growth, infrastructure and so much more

Today we have the debate on the creation of local authorities working together - something that has never happened before. 

No more should we be in a turf war between different local authorities, where everyone loses out. My best example of this was the Green Investment Bank, where the North East submitted not one, not two but 4 separate city bids for the bank location. Instead of combining and working together we ended up with nothing.
No other region has addressed its strengths and weaknesses like the North East did with the Adonis Report. This report was business led, written by experts, apolitical, hard hitting and realistic. It pulled few punches. The recommendations, backed up as they were by the Heseltine report, and the NECC, make the case for a combined authority; a Combined Authority will create a new transport authority allowing us to integrate and make infrastructure improvements, which are crucial our area. In addition, the LA7 will allow more money to be devolved from London to the region, and provide real ability to grow the jobs in the area. Greater Manchester, and other areas, have shown what can be achieved if there is unity and a committed agenda for change. This will not be regional government by the back door. This is not another layer of bureaucracy. This is simply the 7 local authority chairs working together under 1 agreed leader to provide the critical mass that wins big bids from government, overseas businesses and gets big infrastructure projects.  I am delighted that the region now has a clear way forward to deliver even more jobs, apprenticeships, and growth.

TRANSPORT

Labour have had more transport ministers [26 ministers in their limousines] than new miles of motorway [25.7 miles]
In Northumberland the failure to build the A1 / improve highways / rail is key: I get asked about transport / highways more times on the doorstep than almost every other issue.
The spring has finally come but the legacy of the roads disater is everywhere - and our local Council wanted to cut the highways budget - it defies belief