Back the Bid!
Deal With It are backing the bid are you?
Tell DDC they should put in for a LOCAL SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SCHEME for DEAL and SANDWICH by 11 March!
On Feb 17, KCC asked districts to put forward bids for £5 million to improve local transport - only ONE will be chosen go forward as the Kent bid!
Revitalise our town centres
Each of these seaside market towns has compact residential areas and an historic centre in need of revitalisation.Following job losses in the former East Kent Coalfield, in Dover Port , and now the Pfizer closure, there is considerable net travel to work out of both towns.
Travel to work
New employment areas are mainly accessible by car, and often in out of town locations (Pfizer complex, Betteshanger Business Park).
Conservation and congestion
This bid aims to make a coherent network of safe shared walking and cycling routes into each town
centre, linking existing and potential employment areas (including the Pfizer site) to reduce congestion
and parking problems, and conserve the character ofthe historic central areas, whilst widening access to
work, education, health care and other opportunities, and shift travel behaviour.
Attract tourists
It will develop an inland shared route between thetowns, improving access to Fowlmead Country Park’s cycling facilities, and to Betteshanger Business Park. By making a circular route with the coastal NCR1, this will further boost the local economy through attracting walking and cycling tourists and leisure visitors to the area.
Existing cycling plan
Much of these schemes have been thoroughly developed and widely consulted on in the Dover Cycling Plan (KCC, DDC, 2008).
Under-used local railway
Central to this bid will be developing the presently very under-used local railway line as the heart of of an integrated driver of local regeneration.
A258 problems
The Dover Ramsgate line gives Deal and Sandwich the slowest journey times and poorest frequency
service in Kent (1 train per hour). With more trains, it could offer attractively fast inter-town journey timescompared to poor local roads such as the A258 (Dover Deal Sandwich) which is not scheduled for improvement.
High speed trains
KCC’s Action Plan for Rail (2011) prioritises the extension of the Dover high speed train serviclong the line, which would both dramatically reduce the travel time to London and other growth points at Ashford and Thames Gateway, and also double the service frequency on the local line Dover Ramsgate.
Stations at heart of local networks
The bid will place the two stations at the heart of local networks (cycling, walking, taxis, buses),
with improved disabled access, reinforcing the impact of the journey time savings.
Better travel to Pfizers NOW!
It offers an immediate solution fo enhance connections to the Pfizer
site, meeting the needsof a world-class science park and research centre whilst it is being established without waiting years for the construction of a new Thanet Parkway station.
Access to work, education and health
It will also improve access from Dover and Folkestone to emerging employment opportunities up the line in the Pfizer site, Manston airport, Thanet business parks. With improved network connectivity and resilience, all the coastal towns will benefit from better all day and evening access to education (schools, FE colleges and universities), hospitals, retail and leisure facilities.
High speed rail start-up support
The bid will include the start-up costs of the new rail service, which can be accomplished largely within existing rail resources (rolling stock, infrastructure) but has not been allowed for within the existing franchise, which runs until 2014. If necessary (according to the DfT) this could be accomplished by a ‘carveout’ to separate the finances of this investment from the current revenue support for the TOC as a whole.
Unique opportunity
The bid offers a unique opportunity to effect a stepchange in the fortunes of an area now in flux, giving a decisive nudge to travel behaviours at a time when new patterns are being set, whilst supporting badly needed regeneration.
Make sure YOUR local councillors don’t miss this chance!
Find out more and send them an email from: www.trains4deal.com
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