Agenda item

Considered a presentation by Lisa Williams, General Manager of Esk Valley Railway Development Company on the newly published report ‘Esk Valley Railway: a New Beginning’ which set out the case for investment in the railway.  Members were advised that the growth of Whitby in the last 20 years meant that the service did not meet the needs of the communities it served. The service provided year-round essential connections to education, hospitals, and shopping whilst boosting the local (including night time) economy, however was hamstrung by two problems: frequency of trains and journey time.  In 2016, Section 106 funding worth £7m resulting from the development of the potash mine was obtained for service and infrastructure improvements but there was still no agreement by North Yorkshire Council and Network Rail as to how it should be implemented.  Ms Williams urged the committee to:

·       Publicly support the report

·       Support the EVRDC funding bid to the York and North Yorkshire and Teeside Mayors for the Strategic Business Study proposed in the report

·       Press for early implementation of the ‘quick win’ proposals to enable the daily year-round eight train service along the railway line

Members then discussed the presentation raising the following points:

·       Agreement with the thrust of the presentation and the need to invest the Section 106 funding in the railway for the benefit of both residents and visitors

·       Support for the ‘quick wins’ in the report including the use of request stops to speed up some services and at least eight trains a day to provide a commuter and schools service

Members were advised in a briefing note by Graham North, Rail Strategy and Performance Officer, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, that despite all the difficulties that the railway had faced in recent years, North Yorkshire Council had worked hard in partnership with Network Rail, Northern Trains and Transport for the North to assess the options and develop the final designs for the infrastructure enhancements to the Esk Valley Line that would facilitate additional services on the line.  He expected Network Rail to complete their detailed design work by the end of 2024 and by then the council would also have drawn down the remaining Section 106 funds from Anglo American and thus would have a full understanding of the funding available at that point.  Mr North added in reply to members’ questions that some of the Section 106 monies had been spent on project work and resources but most was still available.  Contracts had been signed with Network Rail to progress this spending and technological and other innovations were being explored with external partners to improve the service.  In the meantime, Network Rail had been undertaking work to improve the infrastructure along the line.

Resolved that the committee:

(i)             Receives the presentation;

(ii)            Sends a letter of support as requested by the EVRDC to the York and North Yorkshire and Teeside Mayors for the Strategic Business Study proposed in the report; and

(iii)           Requests a progress report on the Section 106 monies to the next meeting of the committee on 29 November.

(In accordance with his declaration at Agenda Item 3, Councillor Swannick after introducing the presentation took no part in the debate nor the determination of this item)