Stand Up For Southport Blog by Andrew Brown
There’s huge controversy today about the imminent announcement to scrap the northern leg of the HS2 rail line between Birmingham and Manchester.
While opinion has been divided on this, there is no denying one stark fact – we urgently need better road and rail transport here in the North.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to announce that “every penny” saved — expected to be about £36 billion — will be reinvested in road and rail projects in the North and the Midlands.
Good – because we have an extensive wishlist, and there will be huge competition for the funding.
For a start, we’d love to be able to restore direct train travel between Southport and our nearest city, Preston, in Lancashire, just 18 miles away.
Connecting to Preston would open up access into Southport from Lancashire, Cumbria and Scotland.
We’d also like to reconnect direct rail travel with the fast-growing university town of Ormskirk, just 8 miles away.
Both would create huge opportunities for our region, at a cost of just £35 million – a tiny fraction of the HS2 billions.
They would support the £38.5 million investment in Southport the Government has made through Southport Town Deal, which aims to attract millions more visitors to new attractions such as the Marine Lake Events Centre, the Light Fantastic and Cove Resort Southport.
Also on our wishlist – we’d love to see the Government provide £13 million funding so we can repair and restore our historic Southport Pier.
Better rail links between Southport and Manchester would also make a significant difference to Levelling Up.
A Northern train at Southport Train Station. Photo by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
Another scheme of value was one of the ‘big ideas’ initially considered in the early days of the Southport Town Deal consultation, to replace the ugly-looking Southport Train Station with a modern, efficient, multi-modal transport hub for rail, bus, cycling and other forms of travel.
Lots of funding is needed on a smaller scale too, such as providing accessible facilities such as lifts at Meols Cop Train Station in Southport.
Last year, an impressive Business Case was presented to the Government for the re-instatement of the Burscough Curves, which would bring back direct rail travel between Southport, Preston and Ormskirk – a journey that passengers were able to make until the devastating Beeching Cuts in the 1960s.
The scheme at the time had impressive cross-party support, led by Southport MP Damien Moore (Conservative), West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper (Labour), Preston MP Sir Mark Kendrick (Labour), South Ribble MP Katherine Fletcher (Conservative), and Lancashire County Council Leader Geoff Driver (Conservative) along with other organisations including Southport BID, Southport College, and many local businesses.
Restoring the Curves would see two miles of track relayed, with a two-way junction reinstated to allow connections to reopen.
It would also create an extension of the existing Merseyrail Liverpool to Ormskirk service with a half hourly service on to Southport.
Planners say the project could be delivered within two years, and a bid for £35 million was submitted to the government’s Restoring Your Railways Fund.
It should be a quick win, with a small outlay in return for significant economic impact.
Birkdale Train Station at Birkdale Village in Southport. Photo by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
The curves were discontinued for passenger service use 60 years ago.
Much of the project work was carried out by regional rail campaign group Ormskirk Preston Southport Travelers Association (OPSTA).
OPSTA spokesman Alan Fantom said at the time: “OPSTA is known for its long-held aspiration to see the Burscough Curves reopened which for those who may not know means there would be a direct rail service to both Preston and Ormskirk (and Aughton, Maghull, and Aintree).
“In preparing this bid it became even clearer just how beneficial it will be, its importance to Southport and Leyland and their planned investment through their Town Deals, and how easily it should be to deliver.”
Mr Fantom estimated that if funding was granted, the restoration project would directly impact a third of a million local residents and thousands of local businesses across Merseyside and Lancashire.
If the northern leg of HS2 is scrapped today and money is freed for other rail and road infrastructure projects to improve the North and Midlands, we have to start fighting for some of that funding to make a serious impact here in Southport, Merseyside and Lancashire.
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