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Final route for Heathrow western rail access to to be announced
It’s full steam ahead for the planned western rail access to Heathrow project with a major decision due by the end of the year.
The plans which would bring a 28-minute journey from Reading and a six-minute journey from Slough to the airport would transform travel to and from Heathrow and could be in place by 2021.
On October 7, the Western Rail Access to Heathrow (WRAtH) Stakeholder Steering Group welcomed the news that a single option will be identified at the end of this year.
Malcolm Parsons, Network Rail’s senior programme development manager, said: “Following the endorsement by the Government in 2012, we
have been working closely with the steering group to review and investigate the feasibility of the different route options.
“We are now close to concluding this process with a single route option to be identified and taken forward by the end of this year. This will mark a significant milestone for the scheme, taking us one more step closer to achieving the aspiration of delivering this major rail upgrade.”
Ruth Bagley, chair of the WRAtH Stakeholder Steering Group and lead for Thames Valley Berkshire LEP (TVBLEP), said: “Identifying a single option will mark a considerable step forward for our plans to improve rail
Stevens & Bolton advises on Romans Group MBO
Law firm Stevens & Bolton LLP has advised Romans Group and its management team on its management buyout (MBO), backed by private equity group Bowmark Capital, at a valuation in excess of £50 million.
Founded in 1987, property group Romans has grown from a single site in Bracknell to a network of 18 branches across Berkshire, North Hampshire and Surrey and a staff of around 450. It provides a comprehensive range of estate agency, lettings agency and associated property services to buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants and has won The Sunday Times Estate Agency of the Year awards in the past two years.
Stevens & Bolton was appointed to act as its legal adviser on the MBO following a competitive pitch process in June, which Stevens & Bolton won ahead of some top international City- based firms.
Peter Coles, Romans Group
managing director, commented: “This was a complex transaction which had to be delivered in a very tight timetable. We selected Stevens & Bolton as our legal advisers ahead of some big City firms, because they showed a real interest in our business and a strong, practical understanding of the challenges faced by the management team. Their performance was outstanding. They played a key role in guiding us through the whole process with minimal fuss or disruption to the day-to-day running of the business.”
The Stevens & Bolton team was led by Ken Woffenden, managing partner, and Keith Syson, head of corporate and commercial; and also included Mark Smith and Bethany Sheen of corporate, Kate Schmit and Deepash Patel of tax, Jonathan Foulds of real estate, and Kerry Garcia of employment.
SJ Berwin advised Bowmark Capital.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – NOVEMBER 2013
www.businessmag.co.uk
access to Heathrow from the west.
“Network Rail has worked very hard to get us to this point and I thank them for their commitment to the project. I look forward to working with them and other stakeholders to deliver the project as quickly as possible for the benefit of residents and businesses.
“What has marked this project out is the coming together of stakeholders around a preferred route which will be in the best interests of the largest number of passengers.
“Once the single option is published, minds can be focused on the more technical stages of delivery.”
All rail projects in the UK over
2km in length must receive a Development Consent Order, which seeks ministerial approval to proceed. Only once a single option has been selected can work begin on this next stage. The Development Consent Order should be concluded towards the end of 2015, with operation of the link expected in 2021.
The Stakeholder Steering Group also approved plans to re-establish a public interest group (PIG) as part of a wider communications and engagement process to keep interested parties up to date as the project begins to progress more rapidly.
Details:
www.thamesvalleyberkshire.co.uk
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