Meeting Details

MOTION ONE

This Council is dismayed at the decision of the Department of Transport to cancel the electrification of the Midland Main Line train route in our region.  The Department for Transport announced that electrification of the Midland Main Line (MML) would not continue beyond Kettering on the line. The MML electrification from Kettering to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield had been due to be completed by 2023.

 This Council believes that the decision to cancel it will have an adverse impact on the East Midlands’ economy. 

 This Council believes that the Department for Transport is short-sighted as the proposed replacement bi-mode trains – proposed to run on both existing lines and electric lines is a poor replacement and not environmentally friendly.  We believe that we deserve rail investment – just like other regions and not electrifying the line would lead to a loss of the chance to capitalise on the investment opportunities linked to HS2.

 Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands deserve better.  We call for the Council to make representations to the Department of Transport in the strongest terms in support of re-instating the project.

 Councillor Rachel Madden                      Councillor Jason Zadrozny

 MOTION TWO

 This Council notes that the Ashfield Local Plan Publication, including supporting evidence and consultation responses, was submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government earlier this year.  This includes significant house building plans for areas like Mowlands in Kirkby and Sutton Junction.

 This Council notes that these plans are largely dependent on Nottinghamshire County Council making land available for the forward plan.  Residents in the Ashfield District have had to put up with years of uncertainty because of the failure of the Council to implement a Local Plan.  In 2014, the council voted to withdraw its local plan after a Government inspector said it was probably “unsound”.

 We therefore call on Nottinghamshire County Council to withdraw their land from the plan in specific locations where it will cause significant harm to the Ashfield district to be developed and where there are huge concerns from the public.

 We believe that our Council should not profit from the misery of Ashfield residents and associated harm caused to Ashfield District.  We call for no land to be made available for development in the Sutton Junction and Mowlands areas until concerns about infrastructure amongst others are addressed to the satisfaction of residents.

 Councillor Jason Zadrozny                     Councillor Samantha Deakin

 MOTION THREE

 This Council notes that children's centres are vital for providing the best start for children, are hugely important to communities and support parents too.

 This Council further notes that across Nottinghamshire, 58 Ofsted registered sure start children’s centres provide critical support for children, parents and the wider community.  These Children’s Centres are a lifeline to struggling children and families from poorer backgrounds.

 This Council would like to congratulate all 58 Ofsted registered sure start Children’s Centres in Nottinghamshire.  We further acknowledge that they attract other crucial services into some of the poorest areas of the County.  This includes pre-school facilities, Citizen’s Advice and counselling services. 

 This Council therefore resolves to keep every single Surestart Children’s Centre open and look at ways of providing additional services to safeguard their future.

 Councillor Tom Hollis                               Councillor Helen-Ann Smith

 MOTION FOUR

 Nottinghamshire County Council:-

• is disappointed by the Government’s decision to cancel the electrification of the Midland Main Line, less than two years after the frequently delayed scheme was given the go-ahead

• calls on the Secretary of State for Transport to recognise the importance of the electrification of the Midland Main Line to the Nottinghamshire economy, and reconsider this decision as a matter of urgency.

  Councillor Richard Jackson                   Councillor Reg Adair

  MOTION FIVE

In July of this year (2017) the Government announced that it had cancelled plans for the electrification of the Midland Mainline by 2023.

Nottinghamshire County Council strongly disagrees with this decision as it denies Nottinghamshire access to faster, greener and more reliable train journeys. The electrification of the Midland Mainline would have provided a significant boost to our economy and communities in Nottinghamshire and improved our connectivity.

Nottinghamshire County Council believes that the Government’s decision to cancel the electrification of Midland Mainline and then announcing that they will be continuing to fund Cross Rail 2, a new London rail line to the cost of £30 billion is a slap in the face for the East Midlands.

Nottinghamshire County Council therefore:

calls on the Leader of the Council to write to the Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling Member of Parliament requesting that he reverses the decision to scrap the electrification of the Midland Mainline and that the Leader and her officers and other interested parties to seek a meeting with the Secretary of State to discuss this issue.

 Councillor Alan Rhodes                           Councillor Jim Creamer

 MOTION SIX

 The Department for Transport has launched a consultation regarding the East Midlands Franchise, and within that consultation it states the following:

"A proposal has been made by Nottinghamshire County Council to reopen a railway line from Shirebrook to Ollerton for use by passenger trains. This line is currently used only by freight traffic and as a test track and connects to the existing passenger railway between Nottingham and Worksop. Reopening the branch line to passenger traffic would require the renovation and reopening of two former railway stations, construction of a new station at Ollerton and reopening the relevant track for passenger use.

Do you support the proposal to reopen the line between Shirebrook and Ollerton to passenger trains? If so, what sources of investment could be identified to fund this proposal?"

We, therefore, call upon Nottinghamshire County Council:

• to formally support the proposal and actively promote the proposal to the residents of Nottinghamshire

• to provide a detailed response to the proposal including the economic benefits of reopening the line to passenger trains

• to have a continued commitment to the proposal and actively identify sources of investment and funding which would support the reopening of the line to passenger trains

• to formally ask the Government to financially support the reopening of the line between Shirebook and Ollerton to passenger trains.

 Councillor John Peck                               Councillor Mike Pringle

(A)   For Councillors

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(2)    The Chairman has agreed that the Council will adjourn for lunch at their discretion.

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