From: George Overton Sent: 06 May 2010 15:53 To: Lewis Roberts Steve Subject: Railway Section 106 funding

Dear Mr Lewis-Roberts

Thank you very much for calling me this afternoon and answering my questions about potential Section 106 funding for the , from the planning application P/10/0501/2 on Mountsorrel Halstead Road.

You suggested I e-mail you with details of how the project would be affected by the planning proposal. You kindly offered to take these details to the developers to discuss Section 106 funding for the Mountsorrel Railway.

The Mountsorrel Railway project aims to restore a section of the old network of rail lines that used to service the quarry now owned by Lafarge. A team of local residents has been restoring a section of the railway to run as a branch of the Great Central Railway. The line will be restored as a working museum, indicating the important part the railway once played in village life. We are recreating the line with the support of the local community as well as the railway community, we are working with schools and other groups, and we are promoting ecological aspects of the project.

The line will run from the Sidings junction of the Great Central Railway to a halt to be built by the bridge at Bond Lane. The route of the line has been cleared of vegetation and later this year will have been entirely ballasted ready for track (ballast being donated by Lafarge). The Bond Lane halt would be only a few metres away from the Halstead Road housing development and will without doubt be affected, and disadvantaged, by the development.

We would therefore request, please, that consideration be given to Section 106 funding being delivered to the project. Funding is needed for the rail and sleepers needed, and to build a secure accessible halt.

I can supply further details on request, but in the interim you can find out more about the project at http://www.mountsorrelrailway.org.uk. A map of the route, including where it ends at Bond Lane, is at: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&om=1&msa=0&msid=10060775664607869 5093.000451a76e971d7352942&z=15

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

George Overton