North East Major Schemes Prioritisation

Pro forma – Horden Sea View Rail Station

April 2014

North East Major Schemes Prioritisation Pro forma – Horden Sea View Rail Station

This pro forma should be used to provide evidence in support of specific proposals in relation to the prioritisation of major schemes in the North East LEP area. The pro forma allows for the provision of evidence covering the policy, value for money and deliverability criteria, as well as an opportunity to describe the scheme and its context.

Scheme promoters are asked to provide evidence in support of their scheme, including a narrative, and any quantitative and qualitative evidence that demonstrates:

• how the scheme delivers or contributes to the achievement of the North East’s policy objectives; • how the scheme represents value for money; and, • the deliverability of the scheme.

Guidance on the evidence required to complete the pro forma is provided in the document Guidance on Evidence Requirements and the pro forma should be read and completed with reference to that guidance.

In addition to the space provided for the presentation of the full evidence on the contribution any scheme makes to each of the policy criteria, the pro forma includes a number of summary boxes at the end of each criterion. These summary boxes are intended to highlight the key contributions that the proposal makes to delivering policy outcomes in the North East. An assessment will be made based on the full evidence submitted including any narrative, not solely on the information in the summary boxes.

These boxes should however assist promoters in providing appropriate quantitative data and will assist the independent assessment team in undertaking the scheme assessment. Scheme promoters should therefore complete these summaries where possible in addition to providing the appropriate evidence under each criterion. It is not necessary to complete all the policy sections and boxes, just the ones where evidence is available that is relevant to the scheme under assessment and the criterion in question. Evidence must be presented on value for money and deliverability.

Please use this pro forma to highlight the significance of any designations or sites included within the evidence, including reference to where designations feature in national, sub regional or local policy.

Graphs, tables, hyperlinks and maps should be included if appropriate.

Please use more than one page per criterion if required.

Scheme Background and Description:

Scheme name

Horden Sea View Rail Station

Scheme Description:

Location - The site of the proposed Horden Sea View rail station lies to the east of Peterlee and Horden and is located on land primarily adjacent to the Durham Coast railway line. The Ordnance Survey Grid reference for this station is 444370 541768. The proposed Horden Sea View rail station would be accessed from minor roads which adjoin onto the A1086 and an improved network of walking and cycle routes connecting the site of the proposed station with Peterlee, Horden and the surrounding area.

Figure 1 : Location Plan

Strategic Context of the Scheme The scheme proposes the construction of a new two platform station at Horden Sea View on the Durham Coast Rail Line between Hartlepool and Sunderland that would be served by the existing hourly Northern Franchise service. It would create an economically and environmentally sustainable solution to some of the access constraints of East Durham. The expected outcome is that in the region of 40,129* annual return trips could be made from the new station at Sea View by 2015 (Aecom: Peterlee/Horden Station Outline Demand Forecasts March 2012). Some of the most deprived and disadvantaged communities in the County and the NE LEP area will benefit from enhanced connectivity and improved accessibility. This will promote equality of opportunity and access to employment, education and health facilities and other opportunities for residents of Peterlee, Horden and the surrounding villages. It will also ensure improved connectivity and improved accessibility to planned residential areas within Peterlee and the surrounding villages, thereby supporting sustainable housing growth. It will help support and boost existing businesses, encourage economic growth and inward investment by enabling improved access for local people to education and training opportunities and by providing businesses improved access to the wider NE LEP labour market. The area is important strategically as it links the Tyne and Wear and the Tees Valley conurbations.(*Note these forecasts do not include the contribution of the proposed Low Hills housing site in Peterlee, which is intended to provide up to 730 dwellings in the next five to ten years i.e. short to medium term).

East Durham bears the scars of the rise and fall of the mining industry the key spatial legacy of which is the dispersed settlement pattern of small urban areas separated from one another by tracts of open countryside. Parts of the area i.e. Peterlee / Easington are ‘urban’ in nature large parts of the area are coastal and/or rural in nature with low population densities and poor connectivity. As such it is an area which is recognised to suffer from poor access to a range of employment, health, educational, leisure and other services and facilities which are more readily accessible within the main urban areas of both Tyne and Wear and the Tees Valley conurbations. Both the A19 and the Durham Coast line (which currently bypasses Peterlee and the surrounding villages by virtue of no station being available) form part of a regionally important transport corridor linking the conurbations of Tyne and Wear to the North and the Tees Valley to the south.

The area is one of the most deprived areas in the NE LEP Area. Since the 1970s it has witnessed a period of major economic restructuring, with decline of coal mining which devastated the local community being followed by a major and lasting campaign for new employment including the development of Enterprise Zones. The former Peterlee Development Corporation was extremely successful in attracting jobs to the town, but its demise in 1988 removed a major job creating agency and source of investment from the town. Furthermore the recession of the 1990s and the current on- going global economic downturn has led to a number of large employers leaving the town or going out of business.

Despite significant attempts to revitalise and regenerate the local economy over the last twenty to thirty years the economic structure of the area remains weak with high levels of unemployment (the area has a current unemployment rate of 7%, which compares unfavourably to County Durham as a whole which is 4.8% and Great Britain as a whole, 3.7%). The area has high levels of economic deprivation with many of the population living in areas which are in the top 10% and 30% deprived LSOAs when compared with the County and England as a whole. Some 61.90% of the LSOA's in the area are in the top 20% deprived areas in the Country. In terms of the IMD income domain some 47.62% of the LSOA's in the area are in the top 20% deprived areas in the Country and in terms of the employment domain some 88.1% of the LSOA's in the area are in the top 20% deprived areas in the Country. The area also suffers from lower average incomes compared to the County, as a whole, and high levels of worklessness. Many people are in poor health and have low mobility due to lower than average levels of car ownership.

The provision of a rail station will directly benefit Peterlee which was founded in the 1940s under the new town programme, to act as a new commercial and manufacturing centre for the area and to provide new housing for residents from the former pit villages. It will also directly benefit many of the surrounding larger and smaller villages of East Durham which include Horden, Easington, Easington Colliery, Shotton Colliery, Wheatley Hill, Wingate and Blackhall Colliery (see map below – the catchment area for key figures in this submission are identified in blue). This area has a population of 61,458 (all ages) with a working age population of 39,144 which is 11.8% of the County’s working age population.

Figure 2: Catchment of the Proposed Horden Sea View Rail Station

Provision of the proposed rail station would represent a major improvement to sustainable public transport in this part of East Durham which has low levels of car ownership. It would reintroduce direct rail access to and from this part of East Durham, the area being last served by the Horden Railway Station which was closed nearly fifty years ago in 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts.

Furthermore, the coastline from Sunderland to Hartlepool, the Durham Heritage Coast, has emerged from its industrial past to be a catalyst for economic revitalisation through tourism. Costing £10m this renaissance started in the 1980’s and has led too much of the coast being of national and international nature conservation importance and is becoming a major visitor attraction albeit with limitations on access. It is expected that a new station on the Durham Coast Line would help create a new access point, complementing those already existing and creating new ‘walk out – train back’ leisure opportunities.

The East Coast Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy February 2008 includes the aspiration for a station on the Durham Coast line and does not rule it out, subject to evidence of journey to work patterns changing, or if a developer or other funder wishes to consider providing a station. This is further reflected in Network Rail’s Connecting Local Communities Route Plans of 2009. Clearly the capital funding available from Durham County Council should be considered material in this regard.

The ATOC Connecting Communities report shows Peterlee to have the third highest Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) at 8.8 of the 75 communities reviewed taking into account the capital costs of construction and consider it worthy of further analysis. This has been refined through further work to a figure of 5.46.

Scope of the Scheme This scheme proposes the construction of a modularised station in line with Network Rail’s 2007 Stations Strategy. It will consist of two platforms with a footbridge between incorporating lifts and step- free access from the forecourt to the northbound platform area. Taxi spaces will be provided and a bus stop and turning area adjacent to the platform entrance with appropriate lighting and signage to all areas. CCTV will be installed and monitored by Durham County Council. The station will be unstaffed and will, as a minimum, have a waiting shelter and information point on each platform. All new facilities will be Disability Discrimination Act compliant and will be future proofed to permit further development when funding permits. Work will also be undertaken to establish whether a business case for commercial or community premises on the site can be made which would enhance the offer and provide some staff presence.

Integral to the scheme is all necessary enabling infrastructure including a new access road and footpath and cycle path linking into the existing highway network. In accordance with the Council’s revised Car Parking and Accessibility Guidelines the rail station will be served by 100 car parking spaces which would include a proportion of electric vehicles spaces and charging points and car sharing bays. In addition motor cycle parking spaces, bus parking spaces and secure cycle parking spaces will also be provided. The new station will include infrastructure to enable interlinking local buses to serve the station including a bus stop together with bus turning circle. Following an audit of existing cycle infrastructure improvements in Peterlee and Horden improvements to the off highway cycle network will also be considered as part of the development of cycle super routes within the 12 main towns of County Durham which includes Peterlee. The proposed cycle super routes will be partly funded through the Community Infrastructure Levy.

Available evidence undertaken by AECOM in March 2012, pending detailed design work confirm that based on similar stations recently constructed on the network, that demand is likely to be in the order of 40,129 return journeys per annum.

Primary Objectives of the Scheme 1. The proposed rail station would represent a major improvement to sustainable public transport in East Durham, improving access to the Durham Coast Line for passengers direct to the centres of a number of other major settlements in the North East including Middlesbrough, Thornaby, Stockton, Billingham, Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, Sunderland, Heworth and Newcastle. 2. The proposed rail station would provide a sustainable transport option to the residents of Peterlee and Horden and the surrounding villages in an area of low car ownership. It would enable them to use the rail transport in preference to the private car. This will reduce the number of long distance journeys made by private car, and assist in reducing congestion on both the strategic (A19) and local highway network (A182 and A1086) through lower traffic levels. 3. The proposed rail station would connect Peterlee and Horden and the surrounding villages which are some of the most deprived communities in the North East LEP with areas of opportunity major settlements in the North East, improving their accessibility to key labour markets, employment opportunities, health, education and leisure facilities. 4. The proposed rail station would help to attract and retain employment on Peterlee and Horden’s employment estates by providing employers access to a larger qualified and skilled labour market. 5. The proposed rail station would provide significant environmental benefits, through increased use of the Durham Coast Rail Line and a comparable reduction in the number of long distance car journeys to the main centres in the region, thereby helping to reduce carbon emissions and the emission of other vehicular pollutants. 6. The proposed rail station would increase passenger traffic upon the Durham Coast Railway Line and will increase its financial viability.

Delivery and Value for Money Proposed operator - Once constructed the proposed station facility owner will be Northern.

Total capital costs of scheme – The total project scheme cost is £7.5million Currently £3million of funding has been allocated in Durham County Council capital programme. Accordingly, £4.5 million is sought from the Local Transport Body to fund the delivery of this scheme. (Note: The capital costs of the scheme were based on recently commissioned Apperley Bridge and Kirkstall Forge Stations).

Revenue generation and costs of scheme – In 2012, consultants Aecom undertook outline demand forecast for Durham County Council. The trip-end analysis, in accordance with the DfT’s Guidance Note on Rail Passenger Demand Forecasting for Third Party Schemes (DfT 2011), demonstrates that by 2015 the station would generate in the region of £250,000 per annum of additional revenue of which circa £180,000 would be taken at the proposed station. There is no evidence that any of this revenue would have been abstracted from another station. This level of revenue income comfortably exceeds the maximum level of operating costs that could be expected for an unmanned two platform station.

Operating costs i.e. all station operations, maintenance and repair costs (to sustain the asset for the agreed life of the asset) being calculated at £100,000 per annum.

Current Network Rail GRIP Stage status of the proposed station – A Development Services Agreement to complete GRIP 1-3 is currently being put in place. Much of the work required for GRIP1-3 has already been completed with output definition, pre-feasibility and option selection already substantially completed with appropriate rail industry participation. We are advised that given the absence of any detrimental issues in terms of signalling and operation, both outline design (GRIP 4) and detailed design (GRIP 5) should be easily achievable by March 2014.

Key dependencies - There are no key dependencies that impact on the delivery of the project. There are no signalling or track capacity implications. Network Rail advice is that there is scope within the existing timetable to accommodate stops at the new station.

Station Procurement/Construction and proposed opening date – It is currently proposed that the station procurement and construction will be through an arrangement with Network Rail. Construction work will be programmed outside of operating hours where possible to minimise disturbance.

The proposed opening date of the station is yet to be determined. Current best estimates indicate a date between December 2015 and March 2016. The second date being based upon allowing two years for planning permission and construction following achievement of GRIP5.

Marketing and Communication - As part of the process of construction, opening and operating phases of the proposed rail station a multi-media programme will be established by Durham County Council Corporate Communications. This will keep the local community fully involved in the process of the delivery of this project. In addition it will seek to provide information on the benefits and opportunities that this rail station will open up to local people and local business and seek to influence attitudes and encourage sustainable and active travel patterns.

Stakeholders The following stakeholders are involved in the proposed scheme • Durham County Council; • DfT; • Rail Industry (Network Rail; Franchise Operator – Northern, Open access operator Grand Central)

All stakeholders have been involved and have approved the Project Inception Report and the project is about to have a Network Rail Project Sponsor appointed prior to progression to GRIP process. It is intended that Durham County Council will be the Project Manager to deliver the scheme. An informal project plan is currently in place and a formal project plan will be established a part of GRIP process.

Consultation Significant consultation has been undertaken to date. Local community groups have been consulted at a series of presentations from an early stage as have their elected representatives, both upon the broader project and the site location options process. In addition consultation has also been undertaken as part of work to prepare the County Durham Plan. This consultation occurred in September 2012. General support was given to the proposed rail station and Horden Sea View. No objections were received.

Policy Context

(1) Regeneration Statement : The County Durham Regeneration Statement sets the direction for the regeneration and economic development in County Durham and states the Council’s ambition for shaping a County Durham where people want to live, work and invest whilst enabling residents to achieve their potential. The Regeneration Statement underpins the Sustainable Community Strategy for County Durham and in particular supports our vision for an ‘Altogether Wealthier’ County Durham. It sets out five key ambitions and objectives, four of which are relevant to the proposed scheme: • Vibrant and Successful Towns: - embedding a “whole town” approach through coordinated investment in housing, infrastructure, employment, retail, leisure, education and health; - improve Economic Transport Corridors (LTP3 recognises the A19 and the Durham Coast Railway Line as an Economic Transport Corridor) to unlock the potential of our networks of major centres; • Sustainable Neighbourhoods and Rural Communities: - Establish communities where people live, can live and want to live; - Improve the housing offer, narrowing the deprivation and inequalities gap between communities; - Improve equality of access to employment and services; and - Mitigate the impact of welfare reform on our most vulnerable residents • Competitive and Successful People - Raise the aspirations, participation and attainment of young people; - Reengage adults with work, moving economically inactive residents into the labour market; and - Stimulate the demand for higher level skills and support an employer led skills agenda. • A Top Location for Business - Nurture business creation, development and growth, aligned with key wealth creating sectors; - Create the right environment for innovation and growth - Promote County Durham as an attractive economic location for investment.

(2) County Durham Local Transport Plan: The proposed scheme is in accordance with the provisions of the approved Local Transport Plan for County Durham. Local Transport Plan3 (LTP3) was approved in March 2011 and takes cognisance of a number of other corporate plans and strategies, notably the Action Plan for the SCS, which is the 3-year delivery programme for 2010-13; and the Regeneration Statement (RS) which is the overview of regeneration ambitions in the county; and the County Durham Plan (CDP), which is the emerging Local Plan.

The strategy of the LTP3 fully reflects the DFT five national transport goals each of which has a number of transport challenges, but provides a transport strategy and delivery plan but which aligns with local circumstances. The proposed scheme is in accordance with LTP3 goals and objectives, specifically: • the primary LTP3 goal which is to deliver “A stronger economy through regeneration’ and the supporting LTP3 objectives of “improving the connectivity and access to labour markets of key business centres”, “Deliver transport improvements required to support sustainable housing provision”. • The LTP3 goal of “reduce our carbon output” and the LTP3 objective of “reducing greenhouse gas emissions”. • The LTP3 goal of “Safer and Healthier Travel” and the LTP3 objective of “reduce the costs to health of transport including air quality impacts”. • The LTP3 goal of “Better Accessibility to services’ and the LTP3 objective of ‘ensure disadvantaged people in deprived areas or remote areas can access employment opportunities, key services, social networks and goods’. • The LTP3 goal of “Improve quality of life and natural environment” and the LTP3 objective of “Minimise the impacts of transport on the natural environment, heritage and landscape and seek solutions that deliver long term environmental benefits”, “improve the whole journey experiences of transport users”, and “enhance quality of life by improving accessibility to key services, social networks, goods and places”.

The proposed scheme is directly in accordance with Policy 28 (Passenger Rail) of the LTP3. Policy 28 states that “opportunities will be taken to provide a new rail station on the Durham Coast Line”. LTP3 explains that for many years the County Council has recognised: • the benefits for improving the rail network in County Durham and has specifically advocated improvements to the Durham Coast Line including the new building of a new station at Easington Colliery or Horden to provide improved accessibility and connectivity for residents of East Durham. • that the railways provide a network of sustainable public transport to travellers in County Durham which connects the centres of a number of settlements in the County with major centres in the two city regions of Tyne and Wear to the north and the Tees Valley to the south.

The proposed scheme also accords with LTP3 Policy 2 (Cross Boundary Connections) which requires the County Council to work with other stakeholders including transport authorities and transport operators to maintain and enhance the efficiency, value and safety, sustain and improve the attractiveness of transport links to the two regional transport corridors within the region and beyond as well as encouraging sustainable transport options. Specifically LTP Policy 2 requires that particular attention will be given to the two major public transport links into the two major urban areas of Tyne and Wear and Tees Valley.

The proposed scheme also accords with LTP3 Policy 3 (Electric Vehicles and Charging Points) by virtue of providing electric charging points at the proposed station car park. It accords with LTP3 policies 7 (Attitude Change) which seeks to change attitudes and reduce dependence on the private car and the encouragement of alternative modes of transport, especially for journeys made on a regular basis, including by infrastructure improvements which help demonstrate that alternatives to the car can be easy and attractive. It accords with Policy 10 which states that transport demand on the highway network will be managed by influencing attitudes to the use of the private car and promoting more sustainable modes of transport in order to curb traffic growth, traffic congestion and address carbon reduction. Links with the County Durham Plan will be maintained to ensure that development is only permitted where transport demand can be catered for.

The proposed scheme also accords with LTP3 Policy 18 (Air Quality) which seeks to improve air quality through various measures including traffic reduction and encouraging alternatives to the private car where appropriate and encouraging provision of charging points for electric vehicles.

The proposed scheme also accords with LTP3 Policy 20 (Young People and Children) and LTP3 Policy 21 (Less able, disadvantaged and older people). The station would be designed with both young people, children, the less able, disadvantaged and older people in mind and will allow these groups to travel independently with ease and follow an active life style.

(3) County Durham Plan : Durham County Council is preparing a new Local Plan for County Durham. The County Durham Plan reached its Preferred Options stage in September 2012 and once adopted in summer 2014 it will replace the provisions of the Easington District Local Plan (Adopted December 2001).

The Plan identifies the quantity and location of new development across the towns and villages of County Durham and the detailed planning policies that will be used to determine planning applications. It also sets out the measures required of Durham County Council and other key service providers and stakeholders to successfully achieve the ambitions of the Plan for a strong and regenerated economy.

Within the emerging County Durham Plan, Peterlee is identified as a Main Town and Horden a secondary settlement. The County Durham Plan proposes a significant quantity of new development within Peterlee and the surrounding smaller towns and larger villages in the period until 2030. Within Peterlee land is allocated for 1,820 houses, 19.5ha of employment land and 7000sq metres of bulky goods retail space. In addition a further 230 houses is allocated at Easington and Easington Colliery, 330 houses in Shotton and Shotton Colliery and 200 houses in Wingate. The location of these allocations can be seen on the map below. These sites are also shown on the County Durham Plan Preferred Options Proposals Map which can be accessed here. http://spatial.durham.gov.uk/localplan/default.aspx? and in the County Durham Plan Preferred Options report which can be accessed here: http://durhamcc-consult.limehouse.co.uk/portal/planning/lp/lp_po See map below:

Figure 3: Housing and employment allocations in the area

In relation to transport policies the emerging County Durham plan seeks to promote sustainable travel, by promoting, accommodating and facilitating investment in sustainable modes of travel. Paragraph 9.34 of the Local Plan Preferred Options report states, “A New station for Peterlee/Horden at Sea View would improve access for passengers on the Durham Coast Main Line. It would connect areas of deprivation with areas of employment (such as the Tees Valley and Tyne and Wear conurbations) as well as making East Durham more attractive for inward investment. The recent report 'Peterlee-Horden Station: Outline Demand Forecasts' completed in March 2012 has evidenced that a station in this location is commercially viable”.

Policy 48 (Provision of new Transport Infrastructure) of the County Durham Local Plan Preferred Options safeguards land for a new rail station at Peterlee/Horden to serve the Durham Coast Railway Line. It is intended that the Publication County Durham Plan will be published for consultation in September 2013 and the draft plan will specifically allocate this site for a new rail station.

Policy Criteria:

For each policy criterion set out below promoters should provide an appropriate description of how the scheme will address the criterion, based on the guidance provided separately, and where possible address the specific evidence requirement for each criterion.

Criterion 1: Will the scheme contribute to the creation of new jobs and re tention of existing jobs in the North East LEP area? It is considered that the proposed rail station will help retain and help create jobs on the existing employment sites and proposed employment allocations in Peterlee and the surrounding area which are currently highly dependent upon private and public transport. It would allow employers access to a wider labour market which would extend sustainably into both Tyne and Wear and the Tees Valley and enable employees to travel to the existing employment sites and proposed employment allocations at Peterlee by rail and interconnected public transport or by using active travel modes from the proposed rail station at Peterlee/Horden.

The major benefit of the scheme would be that it would enable residents of Peterlee and Horden and the surrounding villages to access employment opportunities in the main centres of a number of other major settlements in the North East region along the Durham Coast Railway line including Middlesbrough, Thornaby, Stockton, Billingham, Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, Sunderland, Heworth and Newcastle. This would provide significant opportunities to the local population, which is particularly important in an area of high unemployment and low car ownership. While up to date information is not available commuting and workplace research undertaken by Durham University for the North East Region Information Partnership in 2005 using the 2001 census showed that of the 33,432 residents of the former Easington District in employment, 14,489 (43%) worked outside of the area of which 5,361 (37%) worked in Sunderland.

The Current jobs market Peterlee is a new town with a strong manufacturing base located on the A19 corridor, which the Councils Employment Land Review identifies as the third major market in County Durham. Employment in Peterlee is dominated by manufacturing which currently comprises 22.2% of employment. Other significant employment is concentrated in health (10.78%), education, (9.55%, retail (9.5%), and mining quarrying and utilities (7.7%). The area contains only limited employment opportunities for those seeking work in higher ordered employment professions currently only 1.53% of the business base comprises professional, scientific & technical disciplines, 1.2% in property, 2.43% in information and communications and 2.32% in the arts, entertainment, recreation & other services. Accordingly, there are a high proportion of routine and low skilled jobs and wage levels.

For several decades, Peterlee has benefitted from very significant investment in the infrastructure which serves and supports its capability to attract and sustain business and industry and to provide employment opportunities for the town, the surrounding area of East Durham and the wider region.

The area upon which the scheme will have greatest impact upon has a population of 61,458 (all ages) with a working age population of 39,144 which is 11.8% of the County’s working age population. The area has a current unemployment rate (Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) Claimants - % of Working Age Population) of 7% (2,669), which compares unfavourably to County Durham as a whole which is 4.8% (15965) and Great Britain 3.7% (1,519,865).

The area is typified by high levels of economic deprivation with many of the population living in areas which are recognised as living in the top 10% and 30% deprived Local Super Output Areas (LSOAs) when compared with the County and England as a whole.

In terms of the Index of Multiple Deprivation overall score 61.90% of the LSOA's in the area are in the top 20% deprived areas in the Country. In terms of the employment domain 88.1% of the LSOA's in the area are in the top 20% deprived areas in the Country. The area also suffers from lower average incomes compared to the County as a whole and high levels of worklessness. Many people are in poor health and have low mobility due to lower than average levels of car ownership.

The proposed scheme will help tackles these issues by providing residents of the local area to travel sustainably on a direct and regular rail service, which interconnects with public transport within Peterlee/Horden and in the main centres of the NE LEP area. This will enable local residents to take advantage of the wide range of employment opportunities in the wider NE LEP labour market and within the Tees Valley, which would otherwise by inaccessible due to poor public transport and low car ownership. It will also enable local residents to access education and training opportunities outside the local area which will improve their life chances and ability to secure employment. This will help up to uplift the local economy, increase average incomes and reduce deprivation.

Key Sites for job creation and job retention related to the transport intervention The Regeneration Statement and the emerging County Durham Plan seeks to regenerate and improve the economic performance of the County as a whole. In particular it seeks to both safeguard existing employment sites and allocate new employment land which will be attractive to the market. As a main town, Peterlee is an important location for employment. It contains the majority of the existing safeguarded employment sites and new allocations all of which will benefit from the provision of the Horden/Sea View rail station. While some of these sites are successful. These include:

• The large Peterlee North West Industrial Estate which accommodates branches of global corporations such as Caterpillar and NSK as well as successful indigenous businesses such as Seaward Electronics and the GT Group which provide a significant number of jobs; • The Peterlee South West Industrial Estate; • The Whitehouse Business Park; • The Bracknell Business Park; • The Peterlee North East industrial estate currently accommodates Walkers amongst a range of other businesses

Outside of Peterlee, within the small Seaview Industrial Estate at Horden lies adjacent to the proposed rail station. In addition within the surrounding villages there are also a small number of locally important sites including Wingate Grange Industrial Estate, Thornley Station Industrial Estate, Shotton Colliery Industrial Estate and Blackhall Industrial Estate.

The proposed scheme will enable both existing and new employers to draw upon a wider labour catchment than at present. In addition it will enable both existing and new employees to travel to the employment sites in the area by sustainable public transport, thereby helping to reduce congestion and minimise carbon and other environmentally damaging emissions from private transport.

In terms of accessibility the proposed rail station is within 5km of the entirety of the built up framework of Peterlee and Horden including new major housing allocations, existing and proposed employment allocations (see map below). Included within or directly adjoining this area are many of the key employers in Peterlee (see table below) which collectively provide 3,554 jobs. Additional jobs are also provided by many of the smaller employees on the existing employment site at Peterlee.

Figure 4: Proximity of scheme to settlements, proposed housing allocations and existing protected employment land and proposed employment allocations

Category Site name or reference No. of Jobs Scheme will Support County Durham Plan Preferred • Brackenhill Business The proposed rail station will Options (September 2012) Park (Peterlee) enable existing and new • Peterlee North East employees to travel to work by Industrial Estate public transport, thereby • Peterlee North West minimising the environmental Industrial Estate impacts of journeys to work i.e. • Peterlee South West congestion, emissions of Industrial Estate greenhouse gases and other • Whitehouse Business vehicular pollutants. Park (Peterlee) • Horden Seaview Industrial Estate (Horden) • Wingate Grange Industrial • Thornley Station • Shotton Colliery Industrial Estate • Blackhall Industrial Estate

Other Designated Site (s)

Locally Significant Employers Employer Name Evidence Of Significance No. Of Benefit Of Scheme Employees Hp Enterprise Strategic Companies in 1000 The proposed rail station will Services - Bracken Hill County Durham – important enable existing and new Business Park for their growth and employees to travel to work by innovation potential. public transport, thereby minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants. Caterpillar - North Strategic Companies in 950 The proposed rail station will West Industrial Estate County Durham – important enable existing and new for their growth and employees to travel to work by innovation potential. public transport, thereby minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants. Trw - North West Strategic Companies in 470 The proposed rail station will Industrial Estate County Durham – important enable existing and new for their growth and employees to travel to work by innovation potential. public transport, thereby minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants. Walker Snack Foods Strategic Companies in 420 The proposed rail station will Ltd - North West County Durham – important enable existing and new Industrial Estate for their growth and employees to travel to work by innovation potential. public transport, thereby minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants. Seaward Electronic Strategic Companies in 140 The proposed rail station will Limited - Bracken Hill County Durham – important enable existing and new Business Park for their growth and employees to travel to work by innovation potential. public transport, thereby minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants. Kookaburra Limited - Strategic Companies in 127 The proposed rail station will North East Industrial County Durham – important enable existing and new Estate for their growth and employees to travel to work by innovation potential. public transport, thereby minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants. Roballo Engineering Strategic Companies in 97 The proposed rail station will Company Limited - County Durham – important enable existing and new North West Industrial for their growth and employees to travel to work by Estate innovation potential. public transport, thereby minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants. Aks Precision Ball Strategic Companies in 82 The proposed rail station will Europe Limited - North County Durham – important enable existing and new West Industrial Estate for their growth and employees to travel to work by innovation potential. public transport, thereby minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants. Bhk (Uk) Limited - Strategic Companies in 82 The proposed rail station will North West Industrial County Durham – important enable existing and new Estate for their growth and employees to travel to work by innovation potential. public transport, thereby minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants. MECAPLAST Strategic Companies in 81 The proposed rail station will PETERLEE LIMITED - County Durham – important enable existing and new North West Industrial for their growth and employees to travel to work by innovation potential. public transport, thereby Estate minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants. DASCEM - North Strategic Companies in 70 The proposed rail station will West Industrial Estate County Durham – important enable existing and new for their growth and employees to travel to work by innovation potential. public transport, thereby minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants. Alexander Strategic Companies in 35 The proposed rail station will Technologies Europe County Durham – important enable existing and new Limited for their growth and employees to travel to work by innovation potential. public transport, thereby minimising the environmental impacts of journeys to work i.e. congestion, emissions of greenhouse gases and other vehicular pollutants.

Criterion 2: Will the scheme support the North East LEP area gateways? The proposed Horden Sea View station supports accessibility and connectivity to and from the two principal North East LEP gateways for people living in the local area. In particular the proposed rail station will provide the local population with improved connectivity to Newcastle Airport via the Durham Coast Railway Line and interconnected journeys upon the Tyne and Wear Metro via Newcastle Central Station; and the Port of Tyne via the Durham Coast Railway Line and interconnected journeys upon the Tyne and Wear Metro. The proposed rail station will also provide improved connectivity with the Port of Seaham, via Seaham train and the Port of Sunderland via Sunderland train station both of which lie upon the Durham Coast railway line. In addition the proposed rail station will also provide improved connectivity with other important gateways on the fringe of the NELEP area.

Gateway (s) affected by scheme: Newcastle Airport; Port of Tyne; Port of Seaham and the Port of Sunderland Amount/proportion of gateway trips impacted by improvement Amount/proportion of freight impacted by improvement Not applicable (tonnage and value) Time savings for gateway trips or freight

Criterion 3: Will the scheme encourage the development or retention of skilled jobs (NVQ level 4 and above) and support sites that deliver the training for such skills?

Peterlee, Horden and the surrounding villages do not currently have many people living within the area working in the more highly skilled professions. The proportion of the residents educated to NVQ level 4 and above is only 16.6%, which is significantly below the County Durham average (24.7%) and the average for the North East (26.5%). Local businesses also report a shortage of people with appropriate managerial qualifications and experience and a skills mismatch in the area, noting the need for more people with qualifications in science and engineering (Source: Feedback obtained at a business meeting on the County Durham Plan and Business Durham Services on 20th November 2012).

The proposed rail station will provide improved transport links to enable residents of the local area to access to training, progression and job opportunities elsewhere in the region, particularly in main centres of the north east region connecting with the Durham Coast Rail Line including areas within a number of educational facilities such as Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool, Sunderland and Newcastle. Increasing opportunities to enable residents to progress learning and develop skills and qualifications which reflect the need of the north east labour market will help resident’s access high quality employment opportunities and respond to the skills needs and demands of employers. These are recognised as a key benefit of the scheme.

Local further education opportunities within the area are delivered by East Durham College which opened in September 2008 following a merger of Durham College of Agriculture and Horticulture / Houghall College and East Durham Community College. The proposed rail station is approximately 2 miles from this college. However, the rail station would open opportunities for residents to access further and higher education elsewhere within the County and North East, enabling access to a full range of skills and qualifications required by the North East labour market.

East Durham College operates a range of education and training courses. http://www.eastdurham.ac.uk/index.php It operates a technical academy which is the north east's brand new home of world-class training and skills for people who work, or want to work, in the construction industry. http://www.thetechnicalacademy.co.uk/about-us/what-we-do.aspx Students of all ages can benefit from the latest training across a wide range of construction trades including: Electrical Technology; Gas Installation & Maintenance (Plumbing and Heating Systems); Access to Building Services; Fitted Interiors (Kitchen & Bathroom Plumbing and Fitting); Plastering; Wall & Floor Tiling and Construction Skills. East Durham College has been successful in bidding to open a “Peter Jones Enterprise Academy” and will offer BTEC courses in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. It is considered that the provision of a rail station will enable students to travel to East Durham Colleges by rail transport from outside of the local area then travel to the East Durham College by interconnecting public transport or by cycling or walking.

Caterpillar has adopted General Motors’ Simulated Working Environment to train its own apprentices and is building the skills base in Durham in partnership with the local authority and young persons’ charity, The Sunderland Foundation. The learning centre which is located at Caterpillars site on the North West Industrial Estate is available to manufacturers and colleges in the region and provides training and skills developments required by employers in the engineering sector which is viewed as one of the key growth sectors of the North East. The rail station would open access to these new exciting initiatives to residents from across the County and the North East.

The proposed rail station at Peterlee/Horden will help the retention of skilled jobs by enabling Peterlee to remain attractive to business, through the provision of improved public transport infrastructure which will enable employees to travel to Peterlee and Hordens employment estates by rail and then interconnecting bus services or by cycling or walking. It also recognised that the proposed rail station will help encourage inward investment in Peterlee and Horden, (which contains the majority of the areas employment land) by virtue of providing employers with greater access to a larger educated and trained labour force.

The area that the proposed rail station will impact most directly upon contains some of the most deprived communities in the North East LEP Area. 61.90% of the Local Super Output Areas (LSOA's) in the area that the proposed scheme will impact upon are in the top 20% deprived areas in the Country. Given the deprivation and high levels of unemployment (7%) in the area improved access to training and education facilities are recognised as vital improving the life chances of local people and in assisting the regeneration of the local economy.

Name of employment sites or Nature and level of training Benefit of the scheme training centre provided East Durham College including Further education The proposed rail station will the Technical Academy and allow students to attending East Peter Jones Enterprise Durham College to make Academy. journeys to this facility by rail and interconnecting buses or by cycling or walking.

The Sunderland Foundation The proposed rail station will allow students to attend and to make journeys to this facility by rail and interconnecting buses or by cycling or walking.

Criterion 4: Will the scheme provide sustainable access solutions to existing and growing development corridors, centres and sectors, or support housing growth?

The scheme will provide sustainable access solutions to existing and growing development corridors, centres and sectors and will support housing growth.

East Durham Requires Improved Sustainable Access Peterlee, Horden and the surrounding villages all lie in East Durham, within the area of the former District of Easington. It is an area which is recognised to suffer from poor access to a range of employment, health, educational, leisure and other services and facilities which are more readily accessible within the conurbations.

Through work undertaken by the Council we have considered the alternatives to the train station. Not providing the Horden Sea View Station would fail to address the recognised planning, economic development, environmental or transport requirements and will jeopardise the economic and social revitalisation of the area. Relying upon existing bus services would be insufficient in that existing bus services take 1 hour 10 minutes between Peterlee and Sunderland compared to an estimated sub-20 minute journey by rail. Bus services would also risk being subject to, and contributing to, the heavy traffic congestion into the Tyne & Wear conurbation.

Sustainable Access Improvements Provided By The Scheme The provision of a rail station at Peterlee/Horden on the Durham Coast Railway Line would provide a sustainable access solution for journeys to and from Peterlee, Horden and the surrounding villages to the major centres of the North East via the national rail network. It would also provide connectivity with other public transport infrastructure and services across the North East including the Tyne and Wear Metro and local bus services. It is recognised that it would improve the long term viability of the Durham Coast Railway Line through an increase in passenger journeys on this line. Available evidence indicates that a train station at Peterlee/Horden is commercially viable and will become increasingly so over time as new housing and employment development is delivered in the area. Work undertaken by AECOM in March 2012, pending detailed design work confirm that based on similar stations recently constructed on the network, that demand is likely to be in the order of 40,129 return journeys per annum.

Existing and Growing Sectors, Development Corridors and Housing Growth This area is located within the A19 development corridor, which was recognised by the former RSS as a route of strategic national importance and the Durham Coast Rail Line which together with the A19 was recognised by the former RSS as a Regional Transport Corridor. The Durham Coast Railway Line is recognised as an Economic Transport Corridor in the County Durham Local Transport Plan 3.

Peterlee is a new town with a strong manufacturing base located on the A19 corridor, which the Councils Employment Land Review identifies as the third major market in County Durham. It is a key manufacturing hub and contains a number of important companies recognised of value to the County Durham and the NE LEPs economy by virtue of their potential for growth and innovation. Many of the companies within the area have strong links with the Enterprise Zone in Sunderland.

The importance of this area to County Durham and the NE LEP area as a whole in employment terms can be seen diagrammatically below on the Employment Hotspots County Durham 2011 map which shows the key employment area densities (described as employment hotspots) and the location of the strategically employment companies in County Durham. This areas also includes the large Peterlee North West Industrial Estate which accommodates branches of global corporations such as Caterpillar and NSK as well as successful indigenous businesses such as Seaward Electronics and the GT Group which provide a significant number of jobs; the Peterlee South West Industrial Estate; the Whitehouse Business Park; The Bracknell Business Park; and the Peterlee North East industrial estate currently accommodates Walkers amongst a range of other businesses. Further to the north this area includes at Seaham Business Park, the Foxcover Industrial Estate and the South of Seaham allocation which under the emerging County Durham is allocated for a Film Studio and associated uses.

Figure 5: Employment Hotspots County Durham 2011

The proposed scheme will help facilitate sustainable access solutions to both existing and planned residential and employment areas within Peterlee, Horden and the surrounding villages. In addition to the significant population and business located already located within the area. The County Durham Plan seeks to allocate significant new development. Within Peterlee alone land is allocated for 1,820 houses, 19.5ha of employment land and 7000 sq metres of bulky goods retail space. In addition a further 230 houses is allocated at Easington and Easington Colliery, 330 houses in Shotton and Shotton Colliery and 200 houses in Wingate.

The map below shows the proximity of the built up framework of Peterlee and Horden and the surrounding settlements and the location of existing and proposed employment and housing allocations to the proposed Horden Sea View rail station and shows that a significant area lies within 5km of the proposed railway station .

Figure 6 : Proximity of scheme to settlements, proposed housing allocations and existing protected employment land and proposed employment allocations

In accordance with the emerging polices of the County Durham Plan all new development proposals should promote sustainable travel. Adherence to this policy will ensure that the significant quantity of new development within Peterlee and the surrounding smaller towns and larger villages will be incorporate investment which will enable journeys to be made by sustainable modes of travel such as walking, cycling and public transport.

Since the closure of Horden Railway Station on the East Durham Coast in 1964 the residents of Peterlee/Horden and the surrounding villages have neither had direct or convenient access to rail travel. Provision of a rail station at Peterlee/Horden would represent a major improvement to public transport in this part of East Durham and enable residents of Peterlee/Horden and the surrounding villages to more conveniently and more quickly access a range of employment opportunities and health and social facilities elsewhere in the region. This is recognised as essential given the poor existing public transport in the area which is reliant on buses and the low car ownership in the area (2001 Census indicated that out of 25,307 households 9,065 households within the area had no access to a car or van. No figures for 2011 are yet available).

Currently, Peterlee is one of the largest centres of population in England without access to the rail network (source: ATOC Connecting Communities, 2009) and given the proposed development that Peterlee and its surrounding communities is intended to accommodate over the period to 2030 it is considered that there will be a significant demand for improved public transport connecting Peterlee/Horden and the surrounding area to employment opportunities and other important facilities and services including education and training establishments, health and leisure facilities elsewhere in the region.

Without the provision of a new rail station at Peterlee/Horden the area will become increasingly become dependent on the private car. Commuting and workplace research undertaken by Durham University for the North East Region Information Partnership in 2005 using the 2001 census shows that of the 33,432 residents of the former Easington District in employment, 14,489 (43%) work Outside of the area of which 5,361 (37%) work in Sunderland . Sectors/Business Evidence of significance Benefit of the scheme Corridors/Key Centres A19 Recognised by former RSS as of strategic national importance and as a regional transport corridor. Durham Coast Line Recognised by the former RSS as a Regional Transport Corridor. Manufacturing Business - This These employment sites are of areas also includes the large key importance to County Peterlee North West Industrial Durham and the North East LEP Estate which accommodates area branches of global corporations such as Caterpillar and NSK as well as successful indigenous businesses such as Seaward Electronics and the GT Group which provide a significant number of jobs; the Peterlee South West Industrial Estate; the Whitehouse Business Park; The Bracknell Business Park; and the Peterlee North East industrial estate currently accommodates Walkers amongst a range of other businesses.

Criterion 5: Will the scheme ensure capacity and speed of transport links to and within the North East LEP area are maintained and enhanced in order to increase the attractiveness of the North East LEP area as a place to do business, boosting inward investment and improving competitiveness of indigenous firms?

The scheme will ensure capacity and speed of transport links to and within the NE LEP area are maintained and enhanced and will increase the attractiveness of the NE LEP area to business, boosting inward investment and improving competitiveness of indigenous firms.

Significance of Network The Durham Coast Railway Line is a regionally important train line for passengers connecting Tyne and Wear to the north with the Tees Valley conurbation to the south. It also provides a nationally important alternative to the ECML for freight movement. The route principally provides intra-regional links although it also facilitates access to the national rail network. The corridor does, however, form part of the Comprehensive Trans-European Network but this is not adversely impacted upon by the proposed station. The Durham Coast Railway Line is recognised as an Economic Transport Corridor in the County Durham Local Transport Plan 3.

Capacity Issues East Durham is historically an area of below average car ownership but despite good links to the A19 for travel to Teesside, Tyneside and beyond this corridor is associated with high traffic volumes and congestion, particularly at peak times making it unattractive for journeys to work by public or private transport. Further evidence of the impact of traffic congestion on journey times is currently being collected.

Benefits of Scheme The provision of a new rail station at Peterlee/Horden would constitute a major improvement to the public transport infrastructure within the local area and will contribute to the economic viability of the Durham Coast rail line through increased passenger flows. It would be good for business within the NE LEP area as a whole improving labour market mobility and the ability of local people within the Peterlee, Horden and surrounding villages to more conveniently and more quickly access a range of opportunities within the main centres of the NE region including employment, training and education. The proposed scheme will also benefit local businesses within the Peterlee, Horden and surrounding area by virtue to access to a larger, better educated workforce than at present. This will enable local employers to expand and new employers to locate to the areas employment estates with confidence that sufficient suitably qualified and skilled staff can be recruited when necessary.

The rail service to be provided from Horden Sea View will offer a faster service to key destinations including Middlesbrough, Thornaby, Stockton, Billingham, Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, Sunderland, Heworth and Newcastle. It would provide direct access to the Tyne and Wear Metro and the national rail network with journey times to Sunderland and Hartlepool considerably accelerated from alternative modes (estimated 9 minutes and 17 minutes faster respectively).

Even for the key passenger flow between Horden Sea View and Newcastle where rail journey times are compromised by Metro line speed limits on the joint running section between Sunderland and Pelaw, outline demand forecast work undertaken by Aecom provides an indication of the relative strength of rail travel, ‘the rail offer’, compared to the bus with a score of -3 confirming that rail is relatively more competitive than bus at both peak and inter-peak times. Although the business case for the station is predicated on the existing one train per hour, the attractiveness the ‘rail offer’ would clearly be further improved by an increase in frequency to two trains per hour. Service attractiveness and journey time could further be enhanced with new rolling stock with better performance characteristics relative to the existing Class 142 units.

Criterion 6: Will the scheme deliver improved accessibility from residential areas to areas that have employment, education or other opportunities?

The provision of the Horden Sea View rail station will deliver improved accessibility from residential areas to areas that have employment, education or other opportunities.

Existing problems While parts of the area which would be impacted by the scheme such as Peterlee are ‘urban’ in nature, large parts of the area which would be impacted upon by the scheme are coastal and/or rural in nature with low population densities. Coastal and rural areas with low population densities often exhibit and suffer from poor access to a range of employment, health, educational, leisure and other services and facilities. This is true for the Peterlee, Horden and the villages in the surrounding area which do not have access to a wide range of such opportunities.

Despite significant attempts to regenerate in the past and the large existing employment sites in Peterlee, some of which perform better than others, the area has weak economic structure and is recognised as containing some of the most deprived in the Country.

Many people within the area are in poor health and need access of specialist medical and health facilities which are within the region located in the conurbations and main towns of the region. Available evidence indicates from the IMD health domain indicates that some 90.48% of the LSOA's in the area are in the top 20% deprived areas in the Country. With the area there are high levels of obesity, currently 29.5% of people within the area are considered as obese (*Percentage of the population aged 16+ with a BMI of 30+, modelled estimate, 2006-2008) compared to an overall rate in County Durham of 28.7%). Peterlee, the main town in the area only contains one small community hospital with a small number of GP practices in the wider area. As a result of work undertaken as part of the preparation of the County Durham Plan, the existing deficiencies in health care in Peterlee have recognised and Peterlee is now identified as a strategic area for future investment in new and upgraded health facilities. Demand modelling of the needs of the Peterlee area is currently underway, taking into account the significant new housing development which is proposed to be allocated in Peterlee and delivered over the period to 2030. It is intended that an additional 1820 houses will be built in Peterlee including 500 houses at the North East Industrial Estate and 730 houses at Low Hills and in addition it is intended that a further 230 houses will be built in Easington/Easington Colliery and 350 houses built in Shotton/Shotton Colliery.

With the exception of East Durham College which opened in September 2008 following a merger of Durham College of Agriculture and Horticulture / Houghall College and East Durham Community College there are no other further education opportunities in the area. There are also no higher education facilities in the area. Enabling improved access to learning, education and training for the local population is recognised as a key benefit of the scheme, thereby helping to tackle the low educational attainment and skills shortage in the area. Available information indicates that only 16.6% of the local population have NVQ Level 4 and Above Qualifications. This can be contrasted with a figure for 24.7% for County Durham and 32.9% for the United Kingdom.

Due to the high levels of deprivation, high unemployment, lower than average incomes and poor heath many people within the area have low mobility due to lower than average levels of car ownership. The 2001 Census indicated that out of 25,307 households 9,065 households within the area had no access to a car or van, (no figures for 2011 are yet available). Since the closure of Horden Railway Station on the East Durham Coast in 1964 the residents of Peterlee/Horden and the surrounding villages have neither had direct or convenient access to rail travel being dependant on access to train travel from Seaham Rail Station. Public transport within the area being dependant on a limited bus service.

Benefits of the Scheme Provision of a rail station at Peterlee/Horden would represent a major improvement to sustainable public transport in this part of East Durham. It would help improve connectivity and accessibility to from both existing and planned residential and employment areas within Peterlee, Horden and the surrounding villages to areas that have employment, health, educational, leisure and other services and facilities in the major centres of the North East via the national rail network.

The rail service to be provided from Horden Sea View will offer a faster service to key destinations including Middlesbrough, Thornaby, Stockton, Billingham, Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, Sunderland, Heworth and Newcastle. It would provide direct access to the Tyne and Wear Metro and the national rail network with journey times to Sunderland and Hartlepool considerably accelerated from alternative modes. It will include infrastructure (bus stops, waiting areas, bus turning circle if appropriate, cycle parking and pedestrian and cycle ways which will enable journeys to be made by interconnecting bus services and interlinking existing footpaths and new and improved cycle routes in Peterlee and Horden. These cycle super routes will be designed to connect key locations within each settlement including new large housing sites, places of employment, education, public transport interchanges and rail stations.

The rail station would ensure Peterlee, Horden and the surrounding villages become more sustainable and help support sustainable housing growth in the area. The emerging County Durham Plan which reached its Preferred Option stage in September 2012 intends to allocate within Peterlee 1,820 houses. In addition a further 230 houses is allocated at Easington and Easington Colliery, 330 houses in Shotton and Shotton Colliery and 200 houses in Wingate.

Currently, Peterlee is one of the largest centres of population in England without access to the rail network (source: ATOC Connecting Communities, 2009) and given the proposed development that Peterlee and its surrounding communities is intended to accommodate over the period to 2030 it is considered that there will be a significant demand for improved public transport connecting Peterlee/Horden and the surrounding area to employment opportunities and other important facilities and services including education and training establishments, health and leisure facilities elsewhere in the region.

The location of the station was identified by Durham County Council and their analysis is supported by Aecom as no other potential locations along the line offer substantially greater populations within 800m. There is a very sizeable population within 5km of the station. Successful development of the station places emphasis on artificially pushing back the 800m boundary into the Peterlee catchment through car park provision, diversion of bus services, local promotion of sustainable travel and improved walking and cycling infrastructure. The relationship of the proposed rail station to both the 800m and 5km distances and existing and proposed employment and housing allocations are shown below.

Figure 7 : Proximity of scheme to settlements, proposed housing allocations and existing protected employment land and proposed employment allocations

The proposed rail station would be good for businesses within Peterlee, Horden and the surrounding villages and the NE LEP area as a whole. It would improve labour market mobility and the ability of local people within the Peterlee, Horden and surrounding areas to more conveniently and more quickly access a range of employment opportunities within the main centres of the NE region. The proposed scheme will also benefit local businesses within the Peterlee, Horden and surrounding area by virtue to access to a larger, workforce than at present. This will enable local employers to expand and new employers to locate to the areas employment estates with confidence that sufficient suitably qualified and skilled staff can be recruited when necessary.

The proposed rail station will provide improved transport links to enable residents of the local area to access to education and training opportunities elsewhere in the region, particularly in main centres of the north east region connecting with the Durham Coast Rail Line. This is recognised as a key benefit of the scheme.

Education and training opportunities within the area are delivered by East Durham College which opened in September 2008 following a merger of Durham College of Agriculture and Horticulture / Houghall College and East Durham Community College. The proposed rail station is approximately 2 miles from this college. However, there are no other further or higher education opportunities in the area. East Durham College operates a range of education and training courses. http://www.eastdurham.ac.uk/index.php It operates a technical academy which is the north east's brand new home of world-class training and skills for people who work, or want to work, in the construction industry. http://www.thetechnicalacademy.co.uk/about-us/what-we-do.aspx Students of all ages can benefit from the latest training across a wide range of construction trades including: Electrical Technology; Gas Installation & Maintenance (Plumbing and Heating Systems); Access to Building Services; Fitted Interiors (Kitchen & Bathroom Plumbing and Fitting); Plastering; Wall & Floor Tiling and Construction Skills. The East Durham College has been successful in bidding to open a “Peter Jones Enterprise Academy” and will offer BTEC courses in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. It is considered that the provision of a rail station will enable students to travel to East Durham Colleges by rail transport from outside of the local area then travel to the East Durham College by interconnecting public transport or by cycling or walking.

The proposed rail station will also provide improved transport links and provide opportunities for the local population to access with greater ease hospital and other specialist health care services within the centres of the main towns and cities with the North East.

Without the provision of a new rail station at Peterlee/Horden the area will become increasingly become dependent on the private car. Residential area name Unemployment Rate 7% Skills levels 16.60% NVQ Level 4 and Above IMD (2007) Health Ranking 90.48% of LSOA's in top 20% deprived areas. IMD (2007) Overall Ranking 61.90% of LSOA's in top 20% deprived areas. Description of access to opportunity See response to criteria 6 (employment/education/other opportunity) Benefit of the scheme See response to criteria 6

Criterion 7: Will the scheme contribute to an improvement in the overall quality of journeys, particularly those providing links to employment and health or education opportunities?

The proposed Horden Sea View rail station will make a major improvement in the overall quality of journeys including those made for employment and health and education purposes. Currently local residents who wish to travel to the centre of the main towns and cities by public transport are dependent on cars or buses to travel to the destination of their choice or by cars and buses to Seaham train station then by train to the destination of their choice. Similarly, visitors to the area are dependent on journeys made by car, bus or by train to Seaham train station and then by car or by bus to their destination of choice in the local area.

The proposed rail station would represent a significant improvement to public transport provision in the local area which will provide a real alternative to travel by private car. It will provide a reliable hourly direct alternative and reduce reliance on the limited public service buses for longer distance journeys. Compared to other modes it will provide an improved travel experience with reduced travel times. In addition it will allow local people to connect with ease to numerous interlinking public transport services within the main centres of the region including services such as the Tyne and Wear Metro.

The proposed rail station will be designed to provide a high quality transport interchange: • It will be designed to allow integration between local bus services operating in the local area with the rail services. • It will incorporate cycle infrastructure which allows safe and secure parking and will connect with existing networks and the new cycle infrastructure which will be developed in Peterlee as part of the Council’s proposed cycle super routes. • It will be designed to meet the needs of all users including young people and children, the less able, disadvantaged, elderly and commuters. The proposed rail station and all facilities at the station will be designed to standards which meet the Disability Discrimination Act and will be future proofed to permit further development when funding permits. • It will be designed to provide safe and secure environment for all users so that the travelling public will be confident that their travel experience will not be impacted upon by crime or antisocial behaviour throughout all hours of its operation. All areas of the proposed station will be designed to deliver a secure environment including the platforms and waiting areas at the station, bus/rail interchange areas, parking and all interconnecting walking and cycle routes connecting to the station. CCTV will be installed, monitored by Durham County Council. In order to minimise feelings of insecurity during hours of darkness the station and interlinking routes which connect the station to the surrounding areas will be well lit.

Furthermore, the coastline from Sunderland to Hartlepool, the Durham Heritage Coast, has emerged from its industrial past to be a catalyst for economic revitalisation through tourism. Through this £10m investment this renaissance started in the 1980’s and has led too much of the coast being of national and international nature conservation importance and is becoming a major visitor attraction albeit with limitations on access. Horden Sea View rail station would help create a new visitor access point, complementing those already existing and creating new ‘walk out – train back’ leisure opportunities.

Criterion 8: Will the scheme contribute to an overall improvement in the local environment including improving local air quality or reducing the noise impact of transport corridors?

The proposed Horden Sea View rail station should contribute to an overall improvement in the local environment.

The provision of a new rail station at Peterlee/Horden will result in a large number of trips to be made by sustainable public transport in preference to the private car. Available evidence undertaken by AECOM in March 2012, pending detailed design work confirm that based on similar stations recently constructed on the network, that in 2015 demand is likely to be in the order of 40,129 return journeys per annum. This will have a positive environmental impact, it will reduce congestion on both the strategic (A19) and local highway network (A182 and A1086) through lower traffic levels, and through a reduction in the number of long distance journeys made by private car assist in reducing noise and pollution.

In terms of the environmental impact of operating trains from Horden Sea View, providing the rail service at this station using the existing one train per hour is also considered to only raise negligible additional environmental costs associated with only stopping and starting the train.

Walking, cycling and the use of public transport to make journeys to and from the rail station will be promoted and facilitated through investment in necessary infrastructure. Appropriate bus infrastructure will be provided at Horden Sea View, which will allow local journeys to and from the rail station to be made. Appropriate cycle infrastructure will be provided at Horden Sea View including safe and secure cycle parking at the station and the station will also be connected to the new cycle lanes which will be developed in Peterlee and Horden as part of the Council’s proposed cycle super routes. Car parking will also be provided enabling those who need to travel to the rail station to travel by car. The car parking which will be provided will include a proportion of car sharing bays and electric car parking bays and charging points.

In overall terms the provision of the Horden Sea View rail station should benefit the environment and should lead to a reduction in noise and air pollution which would otherwise be generated by the private car journeys which would have been made. It is also recognised that the reduction of air pollution will help reduce air pollution impacts upon the internationally and nationally important nature conservation designations on the Durham Coast which include Castle Eden Dene SAC directly to the south of Peterlee and Durham Coast SAC to the east.

Noise – nature and quantification of Not currently quantified. change or impact No. Dwellings affected by noise: None Air quality – nature and quantification of Not currently quantified. change or impact AQMAs or sites of concern affected: None. The only AQMA in County Durham is in Durham City. Environmental or cultural significance – New station at Horden will encourage more people to nature of change or impact visit the Heritage Coast and thus gain improved understanding, enjoyment and understanding of the cultural heritage of the area.

Area of environmental or cultural SACs, SPAs and Ramsar sites lie on the Durham Coast significance (name and designation) to the east. Magnitude of impact on area of Potentially during construction only and adverse impact environmental and cultural significance to be mitigated against.

Neutral The proposals: • are not in conflict with, and do not contribute to policies for the protection or enhancement of the heritage • maintain existing historic character in a landscape/townscape • have no appreciable impacts, either positive or negative, on any known or potential heritage assets • are a combination of slight positive and negative impacts, on locally significant aspects of the heritage • do not result in severance or loss of integrity, context or understanding within a Historic landscape • there will be opportunities to promote train travel over car use for both business and leisure journeys which in turn contribute to the council’s corporate commitment to reduce carbon emissions across the county in its efforts to tackle climate change.

Criterion 9: Will the scheme contribute to an overall reduction in carbon emissions relative to the existing situation?

The proposed scheme is considered to be a major sustainable public transport intervention which will contribute to an overall reduction in carbon emissions relative to the existing situation and will help deliver a low carbon and sustainable transport system in this part of County Durham.

While a detailed assessment has yet to be made and carbon reduction emissions have yet to be quantified it is recognised that the scheme will help deliver modal shift and will reduce the number and length of journeys made by the private car to the main centres served by the Durham Coast Line. In addition it will enable interconnecting journeys to be made by connecting public transport services i.e. the Tyne and Wear Metro which interconnects with the Durham Coast Railway Line at Sunderland, Heworth and Newcastle and other local bus services. The available evidence undertaken by AECOM in March 2012, pending detailed design work confirm that based on similar stations recently constructed on the network, that demand is likely to be in the order of 40,129 return journeys per annum. It is recognised that many of these journeys which are forecast to be made from the Peterlee/Horden rail station are currently made by private car or by bus and that the modal shift of these journeys will result in a reduction in carbon emissions.

Walking, cycling and the use of public transport to make journeys to and from the rail station will be promoted and facilitated through investment in necessary infrastructure. Appropriate bus infrastructure will be provided at Horden Sea View, which will allow local journeys to and from the rail station to be made. Appropriate cycle infrastructure will be provided at Horden Sea View including safe and secure cycle parking at the station and the station will also be connected to the new cycle lanes which will be developed in Peterlee and Horden as part of the Council’s proposed cycle super routes. Car parking will also be provided enabling those who need to travel to the rail station to travel by car. The car parking which will be provided will include a proportion of car sharing bays and electric car parking bays and charging points.

The provision of electric vehicle parking at the proposed station while relatively modest at first (3 spaces), will be upgraded over time, as public attitudes to electric vehicles change and the new technology is adopted. Similarly, the provision of car sharing bays will encourage more sustainable travel patterns upon the travelling public and help start to reduce single occupancy car travel. The provision of cycle parking at the proposed station, connected with the proposed cycle super route which is intended to delivered through the implementation of the County Durham Cycle Strategy and Action Plan will plan (2012) will help enable local trips from Peterlee and Horden and the surrounding villages to be made to the proposed railway station. Providing safe well connected and accessible cycle routes and will help encourage the use of bicycles for short journeys.

Promoted Scheme Comparator Sche me: (name) Potential mode shift • Private car to train • Private car to cycle and train • Private car to walking and cycling Available evidence undertaken by AECOM in March 2012, pending detailed design work confirm that based on similar stations recently constructed on the network, that demand is likely to be in the order of 40,129 return journeys per annum. Potential change in average speed N/A

Criterion 10: Will the scheme provide the opportunity to improve health, reduce levels of obesity among the population or improve road safety within the area?

The proposed scheme will provide the opportunity to improve health, reduce levels of obesity among the population and improve road safety within the Peterlee/Horden area and thee surrounding villages.

The population of the area most directly impacted by the proposed rail station is 61,458. Available evidence indicates that this population suffers from poor health and unhealthy life styles. The Index of Multiple Deprivation health domain indicates that some 90.48% of the LSOA's in the area that the proposed scheme will impact upon are in the top 20% deprived areas in the Country. The obesity level is 29.5% and is higher than the County average of 28.7%. (*Percentage of the population aged 16+ with a BMI of 30+, modelled estimate, 2006-2008). Statistics for the wider East Durham (Area Action Partnership Area) area also shows that the area also contains high percentages of adults who smoke, binge drink and have unhealthy eating habits compared the rest of the County. A higher percentage of the working age population in the East Durham area also claim Incapacity benefit and Severe Disability Benefit compared to the County, region and England & Wales.

East Durham is currently poorly served by health facilities. Peterlee, the main town in the area only contains one small community hospital with a small number of GP practices in the wider area. As a result of work undertaken as part of the preparation of the County Durham Plan, the existing deficiencies in health care in Peterlee have recognised and Peterlee is now identified as a strategic area for future investment in new and upgraded health facilities. Demand modelling of the needs of the Peterlee area is currently underway, taking into account the significant new housing development which is proposed to be allocated in Peterlee and delivered over the period to 2030. It is intended that an additional 1820 houses will be built in Peterlee including 500 houses at the North East Industrial Estate and 730 houses at Low Hills and in addition it is intended that a further 230 houses will be built in Easington/Easington Colliery and 350 houses built in Shotton/Shotton Colliery.

The provision of a new rail station will provide a significant improvement to public transport services serving the Peterlee/Horden and the surrounding area. It will provide opportunities for the local population to access with greater ease hospital and other specialist health care services within the centres of the main towns and cities with the North East. This is recognised as important in an area of lower than average car ownership where many residents particularly the less able, disadvantaged and elderly in the area rely upon public transport to access such services. In this regard we understand that there are also advanced proposals being progressed for s single platform station at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough funded by the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF). The provision of station at Horden Sea View will enable through train services to this hospital.

The proposed scheme also includes improvements to the walking and cycling infrastructure as part of the rail station development including connections to the proposed cycle super routes within Peterlee/Horden. These improvements will allow residents of Peterlee and Horden to use active travel as part of rail based journeys to health services within the main centres in the region which will be able to be accessed from stations on the Durham Coast Line. This will help tackle obesity by encouraging active travel into the regular daily routine of residents living within the area.

By encouraging modal shift from private car to rail for journeys to the main centres within the region and the use of public and active modes of travel to and from the proposed rail station the proposed scheme will reduce existing congestion levels on the local and strategic road network. The substitution of car journeys by sustainable alternatives should result in improved road safety and help prevent accidents. By encouraging modal shift from private car to rail for journeys to the main centres within the region and the use of public and active modes of travel to and from the proposed rail station local air quality should be improved .

Active travel Potential mode shift • Private car to train • Private car to cycle and train • Private car to walking and cycling Available evidence undertaken by AECOM in March 2012, pending detailed design work confirm that based on similar stations recently constructed on the network, that demand is likely to be in the order of 40,129 return journeys per annum.. IMD health ranking or obesity levels In relation to the IMD health domain 90.48% of the LSOA's in the area that the proposed scheme will impact upon are in the top 20% deprived areas in the Country. The obesity level is 29.5% in the in the area that the proposed scheme will impact upon. This is higher than the County average of 28.7%. (*Percentage of the population aged 16+ with a BMI of 30+, modelled estimate, 2006-2008). Severance Location of severance Level of severance now Estimated level of severance post scheme implementation Number of people affected by severance Road safety Location of accident cluster Number of KSIs Potential reduction in KSIs

Value for Money Criteria

Using the value for money section of the Guidance on Evidence , scheme promoters should present below an estimate of the Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of the scheme being promoted. This should include a narrative giving a description of how the estimated BCR has been calculated or derived and why it is judged to be appropriate. Information should be provided on the nature of any comparator scheme used or alternatively any other case study information used. Any information used to inform the estimation of BCR should be referenced, or if the information is not available online, it should be appended with the submission of this pro forma.

Value for Money Assessment:

The benefit to cost ratio of this project has been calculated as 5.46.

The programme as outlined is deliverable with 2-3 months allowed for completion of rail industry Governance for Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) stages 1-3, a further 24 months for completion of the detailed design and approvals then 12 months construction with the station opening spring 2016.

Promoted scheme Comparator scheme Scheme Name Horden Sea View Station BCR Brief scheme overview Construction of new station on Durham Coast Rail Line at Horden near Peterlee. Objectives of the scheme Enhanced access for deprived communities to areas of opportunity. Scheme cost £7.5m. Monetised benefits Non monetised benefits Operating costs £100k per annum paid for by receipts. Profile of journey time savings Less than – 5 minutes -5 to -2 minutes -2 to 0 minutes 0 to 2 minutes 2 to 5 minutes Greater than 5 minutes 9-17min Split between: Business users and transport providers Commuting and other users Y Local Contribution £3m

Deliverability Criteria

Using the guidance scheme promoters should complete the tables below to provide evidence on deliverability.

Costs What is the latest estimated cost of the scheme?

The overall cost of the scheme is £7.5 million. (These costs include an adjustment for risk. This is 10% and is included within the £7.5 million total).

Estimated £0.5m costs incurred in 2013/14. £7milllion in 2015/16.

Please provide the total outturn cost and a breakdown of the outturn cost by forecast future years. 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Total £7m When were the costs of the scheme last updated? November 2012 Have costs been independently checked? Yes - Network Rail Have scheme costs included an adjustment for risk? Yes 10% included within the £7.5 million total. What price base was the original cost was developed in? Price base is 2013. What inflation assumptions have been made to the present No day and for the forecasting of future years?

What is the level of funding you are requesting from the LTB?

Total funding gap is £4.5 million.

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Total £4.5m

What is the funding gap between the latest outturn cost and the cost to the LTB?

£3 million in total.

Estimated £0.5m costs incurred in 2013/14. 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Total £2.5 million

What is the potential for Local Authority contributions?

£3 million in total. Estimated £0.5m costs incurred in 2013/14. £2.5million in 2015/16.

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Total £2.5m

What is the potential for developer contributions?

Provide a brief narrative on the source of these contributions.

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Total

What is the potential for funding from other funding pots and budgets?

Please specify bid or budget details. May be able to tap Network Rail New Stations scheme. Durham County Council has submitted bid. 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Total

Operating costs What are the likely operating costs of the scheme?

£100k per annum paid for through ticket receipts.

Level of design

Following rail industry GRIP process output definition, pre-feasibility and option selection have largely been completed. About to enter single option development (outline design) phase.

Please tick as appropriate Options testing Preliminary/outline design Detailed design Y Y N

Funding compliance

What risks have been identified with regard to this option?

Risk Risk rating How will this risk be managed or 1 (low risk) to mitigated? 5 (high risk) Ground suitability – to be constructed 1 Ground survey. Note legacy issues from adjacent to former deep colliery site coal mining are prevalent throughout all coal bearing areas of the UK and are addressed successfully through the design and construction of new development.

Programme/Implementation timetable Milestone Expected completion date Detailed designs and approvals including March 2015 planning permission complete March 2016 Construction Complete

Practical

Technology

Legal powers How certain are you of the legal feasibility of the option? Land is already either owned by DCC or Network Rail

Have the required statutory powers been granted? Yes/No not required Are there planning implications? Yes/No Is all the land within scheme promoter ownership? Yes/No

Quality of supporting evidence for the scheme

Good

GRIP Stage (if appropriate)

Development Services Agreement being prepared for GRIP 1-3

Resource availability/governance, organisational structure and roles

Overall project management by DCC with specific construction phase project management passed to Network Rail.

Stakeholders and Public Acceptability

Widespread consultation has taken place with community groups and their elected representatives. Consultation has also occurred through the preparation of the County Durham Plan Preferred Options Report (September 2012). General support was given to the proposed rail station and Horden Sea View. No objections were received.

Statutory Consultees (HA, Env Agency, Natural England)

Further consultation will be undertaken on the proposed County Durham Plan allocation through work to prepare the publication County Durham Plan later this year. An allocation within the plan is not however necessary to progress the development of the proposed rail station. A planning application would be sufficient. As part of any planning application consultations and discussions will occur with statutory consultees.

Value for money

BCR

ATOC report Connecting Communities June 2009 suggests BCR of 8.8 but with lower capex costs. This has been refined through further work to a figure of 5.46.

Evaluation Summarise outline arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the intervention