Wiltshire Council

09 July 2013

Item 8 – Questions from Councillors

From Councillor Chris Hurst, Royal Wootton Bassett South Division

To Councillor Fleur de Rhe-Philipe, Cabinet Member for Economy, Skills and Transport

Question 2

Chris Hurst:

The Cabinet’s decision to prioritise the re-establishment of Royal Wootton Bassett’s Train Station is most welcome. How does the Cabinet intend to facilitate a new station and will they commit to working closely with all elected members of the area?

Response:

Firstly, I should like to make clear that at its meeting on 21 May, Cabinet simply approved the shortlisting of ten potential major transport schemes including Royal Wootton Bassett Station for consideration by the emerging Swindon & Wiltshire Local Transport Body (SWLTB).

Since that date, further assessment work has been undertaken on all shortlisted schemes (including those put forward by Swindon Borough Council) in accordance with the Department for Transport’s guidance and the SWLTB assurance framework. Based on this work, the SWLTB officer technical group (which includes an independent technical advisor) recommended a provisional prioritised and contingency list of schemes.

Given the limited government funding available (currently indicated at £16.9m), the relatively tight delivery timescale (April 2015 to March 2019) and the identified uncertainties and risks, Royal Wootton Bassett station has been approved as a ‘Development Scheme’ by the SWLTB – in essence, the Council and relevant partners need to work together to develop a more robust business case. In doing this work (which will firstly be subject to consideration of other strategic priorities and available resources), I will ensure that local elected members and relevant stakeholders are involved in the process.