'£2million is pledged to (...) make way for future Skelmersdale Train Station'

[Fawkes Cat]

From the website of the Champion, a local free weekly newspaper (https://www.champnews.com/story.asp?id=GN4_ART_1681705)

£2million is pledged to demolish college to make way for future Skelmersdale Train Station
by Danielle Thompson (June 2020)


MORE than £2million has been pledged to demolish Skelmersdale College to make way for the future Skelmersdale Train Station.

Lancashire County Council’s Cabinet have approved the £1 acquisition of the former college site and allocated the funds to demolish the buildings along with additional costs in preparation of the station development.

Cllr John Fillis, speaking on behalf of all the county councillors for Skelmersdale, Cllr Julie Gibson and Cllr Terry Aldridge, said: “This is another significant step forward in bring a train services back to Skelmersdale, which will be a huge boost to the local economy that will be felt right across West Lancashire and beyond. It demonstrates the confidence that people have in Skelmersdale to grow and prosper even in these very difficult times.

“The station development is coming together due to the determination of local residents and their aspirations for themselves and future generations. As representatives we are only as strong as the people we represent, MP Rosie Cooper has championed the Skelmersdale Train Station, which was established within the West Lancashire Highways and Transport Master Plan in October 2014. Despite changes within the political landscape it has been kept on track, demonstrating its true strategic value within the North West.”

This will now bring all the required land together for the train station, parking and retail development, in addition to the current work already being carried out by West Lancashire Borough Council and partners. The county council in partnership with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority have been progressing the Skelmersdale Rail Link and town centre railway station through Network Rail's Governance for Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) process for a number of years, supported by Network Rail and consultants.

West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper commented: “I am pleased that progress continues with the transfer of ownership of these buildings to Lancashire County Council and with the plans to demolish.

“The Transport Minister wrote earlier this year to reassure me, and residents, that they were keen to work with Lancashire County Council to discuss the case for bringing a rail link to Skelmersdale and seeking Government funding.

“He stated that funding could be used to accelerate the development of schemes that are already being considered for restoration – something we are well on with here having already progressed the case for Skelmersdale Railway through the initial GRIP (Governance for?Railway?Investment Projects) stages.

“I am clear that I will hold the Prime Minister to his promise to deliver a train station for Skelmersdale.??A railway station in the heart of?Skelmersdale?will open up a world of economic and social opportunities for the town and its residents.”

(mods - please feel free to move or merge with another thread. I couldn't find anything open that this would naturally link to, but maybe I didn't look hard enough)

 

[Mollman]

Thanks for posting, I had wondered what was happening as all had gone quite from a point where it seemed that it was a definite go ahead.
There is an old thread but it is locked
https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...sdales-first-railway-station-revealed.141601/

 

[yorkie]

A new thread is probably best as the old one went off topic.

Let's try keep this one for progress updates ; if anyone sees any off topic posts, please report the first off topic post and let us know the detail of any further off topic posts in your report. Thanks

 

[TheSel]

Nice that Rosie Cooper MP is prepared to " ... hold the Prime Minister to his promise to deliver a train station for Skelmersdale". Slightly less useful is that there's no sign of any committed budget to actually BUILD the station, connect it to the infrastructure, or any one of the numerous other tasks even the most inexperienced Project Manager might add to version 0.0a of the plan.

THIS story from the same newspaper's website nearly three years ago makes the point that the building has an asbestos problem, and concludes with an estimate that:

"It is believed that the train project will cost in the region of £200m.",

... so today's £2m - well, that's 1%. I'll not hold my breath that this will be done during this particular PM's tenure.

 

[Camden]

The government has recently announced a fund that can be bid into for projects which can be delivered inside 18 months.

Obviously the extension itself couldn't be guaranteed to be deliverable in that time frame, but is there any reason why a station couldn't be quickly constructed without having to go through the grip process?

If a corridor in can be agreed, and maybe it already has if demolitions are taking place, a station is just a building with platforms at a predetermined height and spaced sufficiently apart.

Why not just get on with this now?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

The government has recently announced a fund that can be bid into for projects which can be delivered inside 18 months.

Obviously the extension itself couldn't be guaranteed to be deliverable in that time frame, but is there any reason why a station couldn't be quickly constructed without having to go through the grip process?

If a corridor in can be agreed, and maybe it already has if demolitions are taking place, a station is just a building with platforms at a predetermined height and spaced sufficiently apart.

Why not just get on with this now?

Because anyone building a station without a railway would be a laughing stock?

Given that (afaik) funding for the railway isn't in place, even if this turned out to be a good piece of future proofing, then until the railway was built it would present an open goal for whichever party is currently out of office on Lancashire County Council.

 

[DarloRich]

Nice that Rosie Cooper MP is prepared to " ... hold the Prime Minister to his promise to deliver a train station for Skelmersdale". Slightly less useful is that there's no sign of any committed budget to actually BUILD the station, connect it to the infrastructure, or any one of the numerous other tasks even the most inexperienced Project Manager might add to version 0.0a of the plan.

THIS story from the same newspaper's website nearly three years ago makes the point that the building has an asbestos problem, and concludes with an estimate that:

"It is believed that the train project will cost in the region of £200m.",

... so today's £2m - well, that's 1%. I'll not hold my breath that this will be done during this particular PM's tenure.

But the world of public finance doesn't work the way people here think it does/should. It isnt point, shout "make it so" and so it shall be! It is a number of staged battles to get funding to deliver each stage of a project. This is just the first step.

£2m of public money ( thats your money btw) has been secured to acquire land and remove an obstruction no the creation of the railway and station. That is £2m less to find and is a substantial "chip in" for a cash strapped local authority. That is really positive. It means you hand a clear brown field site over for construction at a later date saving time.

Obviously the extension itself couldn't be guaranteed to be deliverable in that time frame, but is there any reason why a station couldn't be quickly constructed without having to go through the grip process?

yes - it would be a waste of public money that could be used better elsewhere. A station has no purpose without a railway line. How long do you think it would take for council wastes money on white elephant station headlines to start followed by the electoral prospects of the Councillors vanishing into the distance?

In any event GRIP or no GRIP ( and it wont be no GRIP) you are still going to need planning permission for a new station. That will take a fair while!

 

[Camden]

Because anyone building a station without a railway would be a laughing stock?

Given that (afaik) funding for the railway isn't in place, even if this turned out to be a good piece of future proofing, then until the railway was built it would present an open goal for whichever party is currently out of office on Lancashire County Council.

The money would be coming from the government, as part of a spades in the ground coronavirus recovery effort. Normal rules and budgets don't apply.

The government pot is limited to items that can be completed inside 18 months.

Apparently the government claims it is committed to progressing the rail link, so starting a station now would be them putting their money where their mouth is, reduce the time needed to bring the line into action, and provide both further impetus and improve the overall business case (as the station cost can be removed from the main rail bid). There is no risk to the county council, reputational or otherwise.

 

[Fawkes Cat]

There is no risk to the county council, reputational or otherwise.

Allow me to introduce you to the local media in the north west, the land where facts are never allowed to get in the way of a good story.

 

[Bald Rick]

Apparently the government claims it is committed to progressing the rail link

It isn’t. There is no commitment until a Final Investment decision has been made, and that is a long, long way away.

It would be a phenomenal waste of public money to build a station that, it turns out, is in the wrong place because (say) the ground conditions for the new line mean it has to be routed somewhere else.

 

[urbophile]

It isn’t. There is no commitment until a Final Investment decision has been made, and that is a long, long way away.

It would be a phenomenal waste of public money to build a station that, it turns out, is in the wrong place because (say) the ground conditions for the new line mean it has to be routed somewhere else.

It wouldn't be wasted though. It could be turned into a Sixth Form College.

 

[Bald Rick]

It wouldn't be wasted though. It could be turned into a Sixth Form College.

Like button required!

 

[Fawkes Cat]

Another small step towards this possibly happening:

Major boost for Skem rail link scheme
by Tom Martin (August 2020)


A LONG awaited rail link in Skelmersdale has been given a major boost after it was revealed work on the scheme could be “accelerated” under a new funding application.

Better train access for the town has been talked about for many years, with MP Rosie Cooper campaigning for the project ever since she was first elected in 2005, claiming it would “open up a world of economic and social opportunities for Skelmersdale and its residents”.

The plans have now been given fresh hope after Lancashire County Council announced last week it had ‘put forward’ a number of projects which could be delivered quickly as part of a new call from Transport for the North for the government to fund schemes which could help the economy following the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘Delivery’

Transport for the North wants to encourage more infrastructure projects to not only help local trade and employment following lockdown, but also encourage “greener northern growth”.

One of the projects put forward in Lancashire is a rail link to Skelmersdale. If successful, it would ensure funding is in place for detailed design work needed to progress proposals and ‘speed its delivery’.

County Councillor Michael Green, Lancashire County Council cabinet member for economic development, environment and planning, said: “We know the government is keen to invest in transport infrastructure, particularly where there is evidence that projects can be delivered quickly and that every pound spent will have a good return and give confidence to businesses.

“We’ve put forward a number of schemes as part of the Transport for the North Economic Recovery Plan which are at an advanced stage, and where an injection of cash now could lead to work on the ground being able to start quickly.

“These road, rail and sustainable transport improvements are needed to update our infrastructure and ensure Lancashire can meet the needs of residents and businesses as our economy recovers from the pandemic and grows over the coming years.

“There are a number of bigger schemes within Lancashire where we already have a business case in development to support them, but investment at this stage could really accelerate their delivery. These schemes, such as the Skelmersdale rail link, really do have the potential to transform opportunities for our communities and boost Lancashire's contribution to the UK economy."

source: https://www.champnews.com/story.asp?id=GN4_ART_1710048

Moderator note: If anyone has any further updates regarding what is happening with this project, feel free to report this post, and let us know what you'd like to post.

In the meantime, to discuss how this project could be enabled, you are very welcome to use the following thread: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/suggestions-for-enabling-a-rail-link-to-skelmersdale.208050/

 

[Wolfie]

Allow me to introduce you to the local media in the north west, the land where facts are never allowed to get in the way of a good story.

What makes you believe for one nanosecond that is unique to the north west of England or indeed the UK?