Agenda item

*O&S 69         

In light of the Committee decision at its meeting on 8 October 2019 (Minute *O&S 41 refers), Cllr Andrea Davis (Devon County Council (DCC) lead Cabinet Member for Rail) and lead DCC officers were in attendance to respond to Member questions on the A386 / Rail Project.

The Chairman welcomed the DCC representatives and advised that, in response to her request, 18 questions had been received in advance of this meeting (as attached at Appendix A to these minutes).

In responding to each of these questions, the DCC representatives made particular reference to:-

(a)   approximately 90% of the proposed rail line currently being within the ownership of DCC.  However, there were a number of challenges associated with acquiring the remaining 10%;

(b)   a copy of a paper entitled: ‘Tavistock Rail Reinstatement – Summary of Cost Estimate from Options Report July 2016’ was circulated to the meeting.  In considering this paper, the Committee was informed that Central Government normally sought between 10% and 20% of the total project costs from local contributions, which would require between £15 and 20 million to be generated locally towards the delivery of this project;

(c)   the escalating costs.  The Committee was informed that, the greater the level of discussions that had taken place between DCC and the rail industry, the more complicated it was proving to be to re-establish the Tavistock to Bere Alston rail link.  For example, the routes to Bere Alston and Gunnislake were proving to be particularly difficult;

(d)   the ‘Beeching Reversal Fund’.  DCC representatives confirmed that they were intending to submit a Bid (once the guidance had been produced) to the ‘Beeching Reversal Fund’ that had been created by the Department of Transport.  Members proceeded to pledge their support to help with the submission of this Bid.  By way of caution, the Committee acknowledged that the £500 million fund was likely to be oversubscribed and, whilst this rail line was the top priority for DCC from this fund, there were still no guarantees that the Bid would be successful;

(e)   a potential cycle route between Yelverton and Roborough.  The DCC representatives recognised that this was a good idea.  However, DCC had virtually no funding for such schemes and its priorities were to ensure the completion of the current list (which this route was not part of).  Some Members stressed both the importance of providing routes for ‘commuter’ cyclists (rather than just ‘hobby’ cyclists) and the dangerous nature of the A386.  The representatives recognised these views and highlighted that there were potential alternative options available through the use of Section 106 funds and/or progressing dialogue with Plymouth City Council (in light of the potential health and wellbeing benefits to the residents of Plymouth).  In addition, since cycle routes were not within her portfolio area of responsibility, the lead Member gave a commitment to brief her relevant DCC Cabinet colleague;

(f)     relationships between DCC and the rail industry.  The lead Member expressed the view that working relationships with the industry had significantly improved in the last year;

(g)   the resilience of the existing Dawlish to Teignmouth rail line being undoubtedly the Central Government priority for the South West region.  The lead Member supported this priority and stated that the area could not find itself in a situation again whereby Plymouth and Cornwall were completely cut off.  It was noted that a consultation exercise was due to be launched on new proposals before the end of January 2020;

(h)   the Okehampton to Exeter rail line.  Members were informed that discussions were ongoing with DCC legal officers with regard to the lease to British American Railways.

At this point, the Chairman invited any further questions from Members and the following discussions ensued:

(i)     the extent of development in Tavistock.  Some Members reinforced the point that the residents of Tavistock had been led to believe that the extensive development in the town would result in consequent improvements to local infrastructure;

(j)     both DCC and Borough Council Members and officers were committed to working closely together and it was recognised that both organisations had recently declared Climate Change Emergency declarations. 

In conclusion, the Chairman thanked the DCC representatives for their attendance and informative responses to the questions that had been raised.