SAK/S2/03/4/A STIRLING-ALLOA-KINCARDINE RAILWAY AND LINKED IMPROVEMENTS BILL COMMITTEE AGENDA 4th Meeting, 2003 (Session 2) Monday 10 November 2003 The Committee will meet at 11.15 am in Alloa Town Hall, Alloa. 1. Item in Private: The Committee will consider whether to take item 3 in private and whether to consider a draft report on the Bill at Preliminary Stage in private. 2. Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine Railway and Linked Improvements Bill: The Committee will take evidence on the Bill at Preliminary Stage from— David Connolly, MVA, Deputy Director Scotland and Northern Ireland Keir Bloomer, Chief Executive, Clackmannanshire Council Nicol Stephen MSP, Minister for Transport, Scottish Executive Damian Sharp, Scottish Executive Transport Division Graham Bisset John Dick, Kincardine Railway Concern Group Isabel Marshall, Kincardine Railway Concern Group Nigel Hackett, Associate, Scott Wilson Scotland Ltd Jim Miller, Associate, Ironside Farrar Stuart Coventry, Director, Scott Wilson Ltd Mike Shepherd, Area Officer Tayside & Clackmannanshire, Scottish Natural Heritage Alan Bell, Area Officer Argyll & Stirling, Scottish Natural Heritage David Leven, Special Projects Manager, Historic Scotland Lily Linge, Strategic Planning Manager, Historic Scotland John Barber, Senior Consultant, AOC Archaeology Group SAK/S2/03/4/A Sue Bell, Senior Ecologist, Scott Wilson Ltd Calum Waddell, Environment Protection Officer, Scottish Environment Protection Agency Sean Caswell, Planning Liaison, Scottish Environment Protection Agency Andy Wilson, Asset Planner, Scottish Water Chris Manning, Project Director, ARUP Ali Maneylaws, Senior Consultant, Scott Wilson Ltd Paul Shields, Senior Consultant, Scott Wilson Ltd Alex Deans, Principal Transportation Planner, Clackmannanshire Council. 3. Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine Railway and Linked Improvements Bill: The Committee will consider the possible contents of its Preliminary Stage report on the Bill. Callum Thomson Clerk to the Committee Room G7, Committee Chambers [email protected] SAK/S2/03/4/A The following papers are attached for this meeting— Agenda item 2 Written evidence from the Scottish Executive on need for railway SAK/S2/03/4/1 and associated works and funding Written evidence from Graham Bisset on consideration of SAK/S2/03/4/2 objection Written evidence from Kincardine Railway Concern Group on SAK/S2/03/4/3 consideration of objection Written evidence from promoter on the Environmental Statement SAK/S2/03/4/4 Written evidence from Historic Scotland on the Environmental SAK/S2/03/4/5 Statement Written evidence from Scottish Natural Heritage on the SAK/S2/03/4/6 Environmental Statement Written evidence from the Scottish Environment Protection SAK/S2/03/4/7 Agency on the Environmental Statement Written evidence from Scottish Water on the Environmental SAK/S2/03/4/8 Statement Written evidence from ARUP on noise and vibration elements of SAK/S2/03/4/9 Environmental Statement Written evidence from MVA on need for railway and associated SAK/S2/03/4/10 works Written evidence from promoter on need for railway and SAK/S2/03/4/11 associated works Written evidence from promoter on scope of the Bill SAK/S2/03/4/12 Written evidence from Strategic Rail Authority on need for railway SAK/S2/03/4/13 and associated works Written evidence from Scottish Enterprise on need for railway and Private paper associated works Agenda item 1 SAK/S2/03/4/1 Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine Railway Bill Committee 10 November 2003 STIRLING-ALLOA-KINCARDINE RAILWAY AND LINKED IMPROVEMENTS BILL COMMITTEE PRELIMINARY STAGE WRITTEN EVIDENCE FROM SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE 1.0 Introduction: 1.1 This memorandum responds to the invitation by the Stirling – Alloa – Kincardine & Linked Improvements Bill Committee to give comments on the Bill. 1.2 The statement covers the national transport policy framework within which Clackmannanshire Council is promoting the Stirling – Alloa – Kincardine railway and the reasons for the Scottish Executive’s support of the Stirling – Alloa – Kincardine railway. 2.0 The National Transport Policy Framework 2.1 The Transport Delivery Report, Scotland’s Transport: Delivering Improvements, published in March 2002, set out the Executive’s strategic vision for transport over the next ten years and beyond. This report highlighted the key transport challenges facing Scotland: tackling urban and inter-urban congestion, improving accessibility and integration, and completing vital missing links in the transport infrastructure. Building Better Transport, published in March 2003, provided an update on progress across the range of transport projects with regard to: economic growth, greater accessibility, better integration, new ways of working and future developments. 2.2 The Partnership Agreement, A Partnership for a Better Scotland, signed in May 2003 sets out the national priorities for transport for the second term of the Scottish Parliament. It highlights the importance of transport to a thriving economy and strong communities. In A Partnership for a Better Scotland the Executive committed itself to putting in place an integrated transport system that gets goods to market quickly and efficiently, and gets people to work safely and on time. We must connect the whole country and be connected to the rest of the world. Our aim is an accessible Scotland, with a modern, safe, efficient and sustainable transport system 2.3 Car traffic growth and congestion threaten not only our economy but also the environment and public health. Traffic is predicted to grow by 27% over the next 20 years unless additional measures are taken to shift many existing and new journeys to public transport. Global climate change has to be addressed now if we are to avoid serious difficulties in future decades. We must reduce our dependency on hydrocarbons. 2.4 Cars will continue to play a role in our transport system, especially in rural areas. But we need to expand practical public transport alternatives. 2.5 I am particularly committed to getting freight off our roads and we have removed over 23 million lorry miles from the roads through Scottish Executive supported investment in new freight infrastructure. It is equally important to continue to support projects which will keep freight travelling by rail and which will offer the potential for further shift from road to rail such as the Stirling – Alloa – Kincardine rail project. 2.6 National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 17 Transport and Planning provides the strategic planning overview on nationally relevant major transport proposals. Key to this NPPG is placing sustainable development at the heart of any proposal through providing the most sustainable way to serve transport needs and meet broader policy objectives in the fields of health, education, economic development and social inclusion. The Scottish Executive is therefore strongly supportive of projects that open up new opportunities for individuals by providing better access to work, educational and leisure opportunities – especially when that access does not depend on having access to a car. 2.7 In our Directions and Guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority for the new passenger rail franchise that is currently being let the Scottish Ministers made it clear that improved reliability is one of the key features we are seeking from the next franchise holder whoever that may be. This reflects the public response to our extensive consultation on priorities for passenger rail services in Scotland. To tackle reliability we must work with the rail industry on a number of key issues including more efficient use of key stretches of rail infrastructure such as the Edinburgh & Glasgow rail line and the Forth Rail Bridge. 2.8 The proposed reopening of the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine railway sits well with these overall National transport policy objectives. It is an example of integrated transport: it would connect the people of Alloa to the rail network, it would keep freight off the roads and divert freight trains away from the Forth Rail Bridge, allowing for greater passenger services between Edinburgh and Fife. 3.0 Scottish Executive support for the Stirling – Alloa – Kincardine railway 3.1 The Scottish Executive supports the reopening of the Stirling – Alloa – Kincardine railway because it sits well with national transport policies. It would improve the accessibility of the Alloa area; it would support sustainable transport of coal by rail; and it would free up additional paths on the Forth rail bridge to allow additional passenger services between Fife and Edinburgh thus encouraging modal shift at points where the regional and national road networks are particularly congested, especially at the Forth Road Bridge. 3.2 The Steering Group for the project comprising Clackmannanshire Council, Fife Council, Stirling Council, Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley, the Strategic Rail Authority and the Scottish Executive commissioned an appraisal of the project in line with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance. That initial appraisal, which has subsequently been updated to reflect revised information about the likely capital cost and volumes of coal that might be transported to Longannet Power Station, demonstrated a robustly positive business case with significant economic, accessibility and environmental benefits. 3.3 On this basis I announced in June 2003 that the Scottish Executive would provide the full £30m sought in the Promoter’s statement of funding and expense, provided of course that the Parliament passes the Stirling – Alloa – Kincardine