The Vice-Chairman of East Sussex County Council, Rupert Simmons, who chairs the Board, said "we want to see a re-examination of the economics of the line to establish if a stronger business case can be prepared to support reopening and we intend to leave no stone unturned in this quest”.
The Board has heard presentations from two companies, Bride Parks and Intermodality, on how they would take existing feasibility studies on the Rail Corridor a step further.
They would use the considerable amount of research, already done by the County Council, as a basis for the further work essential to present a compelling case to government and the rail industry. The companies will pay for the extra studies, working alongside other companies with rail expertise. None of this work will be publicly funded.
The Board expects to be shown the results of this work later this Autumn.
This initiative is only one aspect of the efforts by the Project Board and others to keep the profile of the railway line high. The lobbying efforts will continue and the board intends to hear more evidence in the future on, for example, how property price rises and economic growth trends can be shown to link to rail accessibility, which could add to the case for the Rail Corridor.
Planning policies from the county and district councils have already been designed so that the route of the line can be protected.
Reference:
04/278/TH
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