Hampshire: Enterprise M3 LEP says rail investment needs to be delivered sooner

The Enterprise M3 LEP has reported that it broadly supports the final version of the Wessex Route Study published last week. However, it is urging the Government to bring forward funding needed to address the significant crowding and lack of capacity on peak services into London Waterloo and through much of the LEP’s area.

The LEP welcomes most of the proposals contained in the final version of the study. However, it is concerned about an overall lack of ambition and that some of the timescales identified remain far too long.

A spokesperson for the Enterprise M3 LEP said the issues faced on the Wessex routes, particularly around lack of capacity, are already acting as a constraint on economic growth and these are only predicted to get worse. Therefore while supportive of the proposals outlined in the study, the LEP urges government to reduce the timescales proposed for implementation of many of the schemes so that it can see tangible improvements to the network carried out much more quickly than is planned at present.

In addition while Enterprise M3 welcomes the additional detailed work and consideration of housing growth which has been included in the final version of the study, the LEP still considers that a disconnect between capacity, housing and growth remains.  The LEP does not think that the Route Study places sufficient emphasis on, or looks to accommodate, the potential impact of future growth aspirations in the area.

Geoff French CBE, chairman of Enterprise M3 LEP, said: €"œDespite our strong representations, the final version of the strategy still doesn'™t fully consider the impact of potential growth in the area and fails to consider businesses™' significant growth aspirations.  The conclusion that using local forecasts of housing and population would bias investment towards those areas with the most ambitious aspirations, rather than where investment is most required, is bewildering as investment is clearly most needed to support future growth.

"Nevertheless, despite this, Enterprise M3 remains strongly supportive of the Wessex Rail Study and we will work closely with our rail industry partners to urge government to ensure that the significant investment needed to provide sufficient capacity and reliability on the South West Main Line is forthcoming and hence that economic growth in the area is able to reach its full potential."

Enterprise M3 believes that the rail industry needs to be more flexible so that it can respond to major development proposals that come forward, in line with the Government’s growth agenda.