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Lobbying may force U-turn on rail grants
Page 10
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ix by Sally Nash
Intensive political lobbying could force the Strategic Rail Authority to review Its controversial decision to suspend rail freight grants, according to Rail Freight Group chairman Tony Berkeley.
We have all been lobbying for the last two months and I think there Is a good chance that something might happen," says Lord Berkeley.
The SRA has been deluged with complaints since its announcement in January that it would be pulling the plug on all new grant applications, while honouring those already authorised.
The latest action has come from the umbrella group Freight on Rail, which has issued a parliamentary briefing urging politicians to lobby the Department for Transport and the SRA.
Freight on Rail campaigner Philippa Edmunds says: "We believe that this grant suspension is short sighted. Both the public and private sectors have called for the SRA to reverse its decision which ignores the importance of the grants to local government, business and the wider freight industry."
Chilcompton-based Massey Wilcox, which had been promised £900000 for a rail freight terminal in Avonmouth but had not received official authorisation, was told in January that it would not receive the grant. However, it has recently been offered 1.416,000.
But this amount still falls far short of what Is needed to make the project viable, according to Massey Wilcox business development manager Mike Ham.
He will be sending a letter to all the MPs on the Transport Select Committee, local MPs and Alistair Darling and John Prescott. highlighting the government's perceived U-turn on environmental issues.