66 ROSSENDALE
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However, it has proved difficult to move the idea off the drawing board.
David says “a lot of work” has been carried out on the feasibility of the City Valley Rail Link and adds: “The issue is money. The funding was never really there.
“So, it’s about making that case about the wider growth of the area and of Greater Manchester and also its impact and the fact it is a much cheaper alternative to motorway improvements.
“There’s more work to be done in terms of working up that case, but we need to know from government that there actually is a pot at the end of it.
“Whether that’s from devolution or national government or whatever it is, we need to have that route through, otherwise we’re just going to keep going around in the same cycle.”
Jac Jordan, from Rossendale based PR company Viva, believes better transport links are important for local businesses looking to attract talent into the area. She says: “We need those infrastructure links and if we get that sorted that will help.”
She also believes better links with Manchester will help Rossendale’s visitor economy as well as commuters.
Jac says: “We all know what a great area this is. We’ve got the Whitaker Museum, which has just won an award and there’s Rawtenstall town centre. If you could jump on a train or a tram in Manchester and be here in 15 or 20 minutes, why wouldn’t you?”
Looking more locally, she adds simply: “People need to be able to get from one side of the valley to the other.”
Andrew Dewhurst is vice principal at Accrington and Rossendale College. He points out that having good transport links is important when it comes to skills and education in the area.
He says: “We need all our learners being able to get to one of our hubs, that’s crucial, but more and more important and difficult and challenging these days is people getting to their work placement or apprenticeship employer who could be anywhere in the county.
“London is expanding and they need to bring in people from other areas and need transport links to do it. That’s what we want.”
John Boys is a director at Rawtenstall based construction and development business B&E Boys. He doubts that the tram link plan will ever get off the drawing board, saying: “At some point we’ve got to stop chasing it.”
However, he believes there is an alternative, posing the question: “Do we just have a bus going every ten minutes from Bacup town centre to Todmorden train station or from
It’s got to be an all-encompassing policy that
involves local transport groups being able to all connect somehow so people can get to where they need to be quickly and efficiently
“If transport links aren’t there, that becomes a blocker. You might be able to get to Accrington and Rossendale College or Lancashire Adult Learning, who are present in the library down the road, but your employer’s in Euxton, how can you get there and back easily?
“So that is really challenging. It needs investment, which goes back to the devolution piece, and getting that louder voice to get the money and investment into the county.”
Grant McGeever adds: “People down south take it for granted, they don’t go ‘Oh, look how good our transport system is,’ they just get on it and use it.
Rawtenstall over to Burnley station so people can get on to the train there?”
For David Connor, the priority is getting local transport links right. He says: “It would be great to have a tram or a train link from Rawtenstall to Manchester.
“But I don’t think it cures the difficulty of somebody still travelling from Bacup who still needs to get through the valley to catch the train.
“It’s got to be an all-encompassing policy that involves local transport groups being able to all connect somehow so people can get to where they need to be quickly and efficiently.”
PANEL:
Richard Slater, Lancashire Business View (Chair) John Boys, B&E Boys David Connor, WHN Solicitors Andrew Dewhurst, Accrington and Rossendale College Jac Jordan, VIVA Grant McGeever, Rospen David Smurthwaite, Rossendale Council
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