On Wednesday there will be an Executive Meeting of Manchester City Council during which the Northern Hub will be discussed. The schedule can be viewed online and the meeting itself can be viewed through the website - manchester.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/2155/executive Having read the report (9 – Network Rail – Piccadilly and Oxford Road Stations – Application for Transport and Works Act Order) there are a number of details which caught our attention. From a letter from Manchester City Council to Network Rail; “3.5 LCR and the Council, as joint partners in Mayfield, have made representations to Network Rail about the need for close working and engagement on the detailed design of the scheme at Piccadilly, given its impact on Mayfield.” London & Continental Railways (LCR) (joint partners with Manchester City Council) walked out of negotiations with the Addy Consultancy regarding the use of Mayfield Depot as a conference, arts and music venue for a period of three years following the successful Manchester International Festival in 2013. During that period Mayfield Depot played host to Adam Curtis and Massive Attack – a show which enabled the Star and Garter to open during the day like an actual pub for the first time in 23 years. LCR never gave a reason for withdrawing from the negotiations and did so despite support for the scheme by Manchester City Council. Last year LCR closed off the car park attached to the Star and Garter and demanded £7000 per annum to lease it, a figure way beyond the means of the Star and Garter. “iii) At Piccadilly, Members were pleased that the option being taken forward retains the Star and Garter public house. Members were anxious that the proposal did not impact on the capacity of this business to continue to operate successfully.” The Northern Hub may retain the Star and Garter building but will impact on the business so greatly that it will be forced to close for up to three years during the construction with no means to support itself. Essentially Network Rail are buying a building, closing a business and members of the council are pleased about it. It is clear that the Star and Garter is (literally) in the middle of two proposed developments at Manchester Piccadilly and Mayfield Station made by Network Rail and London and Continental respectively. The value of the Star and Garter building and what it can offer a business once one or both of the proposals are completed, will more than treble. Network Rail, LCR and MCC are, according to the correspondence on the website, in disagreement regarding the addition of a new entrance to Piccadilly Station being part of the Northern Hub. The council and LCR want a new entrance and Network Rail say there is no funding for it from the Department for Transport. Network Rail has three sources of funding – one of them is the Department for Transport. LCR is wholly owned by the Department for Transport. High Speed Two (HS2) Limited is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Transport Northern Hub (Network Rail) – construction begins 2016 Mayfield Project (LCR and Manchester City Council) – is dependent on funding from HS2 The cost of Northern Hub is not short of £1bn The proposed cost of HS2 is currently £50bn To object to the CPO made by Network Rail on the Star and Garter, here are the details; Secretary of State for Transport c/o Transport and Works Act Orders Unit, General Counsels Office, Department for Transport, Zone 1/18, Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 4DR Email [email protected] An objection or representation MUST; Be received by the Secretary of State on or before Thursday February 12th Be made in writing (whether sent by post or email) State the grounds of the objection or other representation Indicate who is making the objection or representation Give an address to which your correspondence relating to the objection or representation may be sent If you are sending your objection or other representation by email, please provide a postal address and state Manchester Piccadilly and Oxford Road Capacity Scheme TWA Order in the subject of the email.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 11:56:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015