CAMPAIGN UPDATE - JANUARY 2013

CAMPAIGN UPDATE

January 2013

At MRLC’s committee meeting on the 29^th January we discussed the progress of the petition which our local MP Fiona Bruce is putting before Parliament; the possibility of our taking advantage of the new £20 million Government funding for the opening of new railway stations in the UK, and Monday’s announcement of the route for phase two of High Speed 2 (HS2) which, in this area, will run from the West Coast Main  Line near Minshull Vernon and then veer off towards Manchester, passing very close to Middlewich and Winsford at Stanthorne and Bostock.

MRLC is in the process of passing on the last few additional signatures on our petition which Congleton MP Fiona Bruce intends to put before Parliament.

The petition calls for the introduction of a new passenger service from Manchester to Crewe via Northwich, a new station at Middlewich, and Sandbach.

Fiona hopes to be able to present the petition in the near future.

The Government recently announced the creation of a new £20 million fund for the building of new stations in the UK.

The stumbling block as far as MRLC is concerned is that schemes applying for this funding need to be, as the Government puts it, ‘shovel ready’ – i.e. ready to go ahead and with the support of local authorities, train companies and Network Rail.

We do, of course, have the support of both Cheshire Councils and of Northern Rail who will be the operators of the new service, but the problem lies with Network Rail who are asking for a large sum of money merely to look at our consultants’ report.

Cheshire East Councillor Mike Parsons has agreed to talk to Fiona Bruce about this matter and see if anything can be done to access some of this money for Middlewich.

We also talked about the rather controversial matter of the new High Speed Rail Link, phase two of which will run from Crewe to Manchester, passing very close to Middlewich and Winsford in the process.

MRLC feels that the fact that the ‘local’ station for  HS2 in this area will be Crewe does nothing but strengthen the case for the new Manchester-Middlewich-Crewe service.

There will be much talk in the years to come about developing local lines to ‘feed into’ the HS2 lines and we very much hope that the Middlewich line will be one of them.

This does not, however, indicate that we believe that the new Middlewich service will ‘follow on’ from the development of the HS2 line.

Our new service, and our new station are needed now, and will be needed whether or not the new High Speed lines are built.

LINKS: NEW STATIONS FUND (BBC)
               NEW STATIONS FUND (TRAVEL NEWS)
SEE ALSO: HS2 NORTH OF CREWE

HS2 NORTH OF CREWE

Illustration: ARUP/H.M. Govt.

Here's a part of the official Government map showing the proposed route for the High Speed 2 line (phase 2) in our area, It can be seen that the proposed new line. which will run in tunnels underneath Crewe, will follow the formation of the existing West Coast Main Line out of Crewe until it reaches a point just south of the existing bridge at Minshull Vernon which carries the Middlewich-Nantwich Road over the  Main Line. This is very close to the Verdin Arms pub and restaurant.
The HS2 line then veers off to the east of the WCML and makes its way through Stanthorne and over the Middlewich-Northwich road and the Sandbach-Northwich Branch on its way to Manchester.
According to reports there will be no 'new' station at Crewe on the HS2 line but the town will be served by a 'spur' from the new line to the WCML. As both lines seem to be on the same alignment, with the HS2 line running in a tunnel underneath the WCML it is far from clear how this will work.Presumably the connection to allow HS2 trains into Crewe via the existing line will be some distance south of Crewe station.

SEE ALSO: HS2 MAPS AND DIAGRAMS (H.M.GOVT.)
                     MCRUA CHAIRMAN'S BLOG AND ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

FIONA BRUCE MP - NEW YEAR MESSAGE TO MIDDLEWICH

Photo: Fiona Bruce

Once again it has been a great privilege to serve the residents of Middlewich as your MP.

The victory against the American multinational Covanta’s plans to site a massive incinerator in Middlewich was one everyone in the town can be proud of – it really was a whole community fight.

I was pleased to challenge the plans directly with the Prime Minister in Parliament and at the Public Inquiry. Well done to all who played their part!

A big hand too to Middlewich residents campaigning in different ways for a better society – like the new RAMP – Residents Action for Middlewich Parks group – of which I am delighted to have been invited to become Patron; Middlewich Mothers’ Union campaign to protect children from the influence of pornography and the ever determined Middlewich Rail Link Campaigners who have collected 2000 signatures for their petition to Parliament which I will proudly present this year.

An important new initiative was the first Middlewich Expo, showcasing the area’s great and varied local businesses – the Expo was promoted by the Town Council, Middlewich Vision and East Cheshire Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise – a great example of the strengthening Partnership working between public and private sectors, social enterprises and voluntary groups in the interests of the whole community.

Middlewich life continues to go from strength to strength.

One of the highlights of the year was seeing the high standard of Design and Technology and artwork at Middlewich High School. I also very much enjoyed this year’s events and festivals such as the FAB ( formerly Folk and Boat) Festival, WWII weekend; new Artisan markets, bulb planting with the Clean Team, meeting with the Street Pastors, the Middlewich and District Annual Show and super performances by the Middlewich Youth Theatre, Middlewich Concert Orchestra, Middlewich Concert Society and the African Choir at St Michael’s – to name but a few of the such events which make Middlewich a very genuine and much loved community – not least by me.

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Fiona Bruce MP

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE

REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION

LINK TO THE ORIGINAL GUARDIAN STORY

CAMPAIGN UPDATE, 27th NOVEMBER 2012

CAMPAIGN UPDATE NOVEMBER 2012

(this update also appeared in the MCRUA Newsletter and on MCRUA's Chairman's Blog)

The Middlewich Rail Link Campaign is continuing its efforts to promote the re-opening of the Sandbach-Middlewich-Northwich line to regular passenger trains, along with the building of a new station in Middlewich.

Congleton MP Fiona Bruce is preparing to present the campaign’s petition in Parliament.

Sterling work by campaign members saw to it that close on 2000 signatures were obtained as people in Middlewich and surrounding areas showed their support for an idea which will go some way towards sorting out the town’s horrendous traffic problems and also mean that this Cheshire town, which is often cited as a ‘typical commuter town’ gets a much-needed facility to allow the large number of townspeople who work in Manchester to get to work without having to use their cars.

An added bonus, of course, to re-opening the Middlewich line would be improved access to Crewe for everyone using the Mid Cheshire line.

I’d like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to Councillors Parsons, Edwards and Hirst for all their hard work on the petition, and to Harry Boardman for his continuing efforts on the campaign’s behalf.

The Middlewich line proved its worth yet again during the flooding which affected much of the country this Autumn, with diverted Virgin trains using the line after flooding put the Crewe-Chester line out of action at Christleton.

The question many are asking is this: where would these diverted trains go if the Middlewich line was not there?

Dave Roberts
Chairman,
MRLC

PETITION HANDOVER SEPTEMBER 22nd 2012

The official handover of MRLC's petition calling for a passenger train service and a new station for Middlewich took place on Saturday September 22nd in the Bull Ring, Middlewich.
Middlewich's MP Fiona Bruce is seen accepting the petition from Cllr Mike Parsons.
Also in the photograph are (left to right): Cllr Paul Edwards, Cllr Sonya Edwards, Town Mayor Cllr Simon McGrory, Cllr Keith Bagnall Cllr Andrew Malloy (Knutsford) and Deputy Town Mayor, Cllr Bernice Walmsley.
The fact that Sonya and Bernice are 'in uniform' is explained by the fact that the handover took place during Middlewich's second Wartime Weekend, as can be seen from the banner in the background.
The petition will enable Fiona to raise the matter of the Middlewich line in Parliament, and MRLC would like to record its appreciation of all the hard work put in by everyone who helped obtain the signatures, and in particular to Cllr Peter Hirst.

SEE ALSO: OFFICIAL HANDOVER OF THE MRLC PETITION (ARCHIVED)

OFFICIAL HAND OVER OF THE MRLC PETITION TO FIONA BRUCE MP (ARCHIVED)

(ARCHIVED 25/09/2012)

Councillor Mike Parsons writes:


Hello all,

Just to let you know that the Petition we raised to reopen the Middlewich branch line to passenger traffic and provide a station at Middlewich is now complete. We have raised the target of 2,000 signatures (bar a few!!) and it is my pleasure to invite you all to the official handover next Saturday (22nd. Sep.), at 10.30 am. in the Bull Ring.

Fiona Bruce MP has kindly offered to come along and formally receive the Petition in front of the press and I would like to see as many of the local traders and residents who have been involved with this present for the photograph. If you could, therefore, please pass this message on to anyone you know who  has helped to promote the campaign (it is impossible for me to know who they all are), I would be most grateful, as I would hate anyone to be left out.

So come along and bring as many with you as you can.  We need a real good show of unity and strength for Fiona to take to Westminster and me to take to the meetings I have managed to get organised with Cheshire East Officers. We've won the fight to beat off the Incinerator; now let's go out and win the fight for our station!

See you Saturday.

Mike   

SEE ALSO: PETITION HANDOVER 22nd SEPTEMBER (PHOTO)

LINK - BRING BACK BRITISH RAIL!

 THE BRING BACK BRITISH RAIL CAMPAIGN WEBSITE 

Included here for information. We invite readers to make their own minds up on this issue - Ed