Plymouth MP wants investment in transport infrastructure
CALLS have been made for improved road and rail links to and from Plymouth to be supported in a £50 billion government move to kick-start the economy.
Upgrading the A303 – one of only two strategic routes into the South West – and safeguarding the mainline should be among the schemes backed by Whitehall says a city MP.
It comes as the Chancellor George Osborne announced the Government would offer state guarantees to help fund up to £50 billion of major construction projects including new roads, rail lines, and housing developments. The underwriting of building schemes is among a series of measures unveiled by the Treasury aimed at revitalising the ailing economy and pulling the country out of recession.
The Government is also to legislate to speed up planning decisions and encourage development of Green Belt land, if certain conditions are met.
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Oliver Colvile, Conservative MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said he would be pressing to secure support for both improvements to the A303, and the mainline rail route, which is vulnerable to coastal erosion.
Mr Colvile said: "If we are looking for growth and want to make sure the South West economy and that of Plymouth is rebalanced, key to that is ensuring we have the best transport infrastructure possible."
So-called 'connectivity' has long been seen as the biggest issue facing the region.
The M5 is one of only two strategic routes into the South West, and accidents can lead to it being closed for long periods. It has led to pressure for improvements to the 92-mile long A303 which runs through five counties and suffers from severe bottlenecks. Last November it was shut for 48 hours after one of the worst British motorway crashes in memory.
The city council has previously called for a "nationally significant" rail link connecting Plymouth to other major UK cities.
In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into transport in the region back in 2009, the local authority pointed out the coastal rail link at Dawlish had been damaged on a number of occasions by the weather, cutting the mainline to Plymouth and Cornwall.
Comments
by beowulfonline
Monday, September 10 2012, 9:44AM
“Has Colvile given up all hope of being re-elected as a Plymouth MP and is he now looking for a safe constituency along the A303?”
by hstmtu4000
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 1:46PM
“The big problem now for Plymouth is that as things stand at the moment there is currently no real incentive for inward investors to look any further west than Exeter unless that is you just want to stand on the Hoe and admire the wonderful view and breath fresh air.Trouble is business needs more fresh air to function being driven more by the bottom line and increasingly connectivity.Put simply Exeter is far quicker,easier and cheaper to get to than Plymouth from key business markets at the present time.
Unfortunately when key transport investment decisions were made in the past Plymouth was a still a booming Dockyard and manufacturing economy seen by Governments and city councils alike to be well able to function economically without top quality transport links.Post Cold War and of course the ongoing effects of the 2008 global financial meltdown Plymouths economy is now paying the price for that thinking.
We now find ourselves increasingly peripheral in what will become a well connected Britain in the 21st century,with no airport,and by modern standards a very slow and time consuming Victorian rail link to Exeter as well as a second best A38 dual carraigeway all collectively underwriting our weak economy.
If the way is not found to fund improvements to Plymouths neglected transport links soon then other regions and cities like Exeter will continue to grow and get stronger while Plymouth effectively becomes a 21st century version of the "withered arm" a phrase which was used to describe the former "Southern" network of rail lines west of Exeter to North Devon and Cornwall which was completely closed in the 1960s by Dr Beeching.
As things stand at the moment it does not look too good for Plymouth transport wise.The airport issue raises more questions than answers.Worse still recent decisions have shown the Government is completely ignoring the South West rail investment wise and I expect the "bean counters" in the Dft would regard the huge cost of upgrading the already dualled A38 to a motorway which would only benefit Plymouth really money better spent upgrading the A303 throughout to a dual carraigeway for the benefit of far wider area.
What a mess to be in and with no easy way out either.”
by mjohn
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 10:01AM
“Oh dear, Mr Colville. You haven't changed since i first saw you in 2004 debating on an open platform against Gilroy. You didn't have the wits then, either. Both of these issues have already been discussed and promoted by other South West MPs. Who do you think will listen to you.
Do you realise you only won the seat because Labour Lost it, when Gilroy's expenses became an issue.”
by Waltersmith
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 9:05AM
“I have a real sense of impending doom for Plymouth. The politicians have sold the city short for far too long and their short sightedness has led to a low wage economy with the city lacks any sort of dynamism.”
by Jannercide
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 9:04AM
“Perhaps he will also notice that extending the motorway from Exeter to Plymouth would benefit plymouth more than improving the A303.”
by Nevman
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 8:32AM
“Perhaps, when Mr Colvile rubs his eyes again after his nap, he'll notice something has happened to the airport.”