LibDems publish key document on Hereford to Gloucester rail link
The Liberal Democrat group on Herefordshire Council has given up waiting for the Conservatives to look into the feasibility of a new rail connection for the county. The Conservatives were supposed to be looking for funding and commissioning a study into the feasibility of trains returning to Ross-on-Wye on a restored Hereford to Gloucester link. After months of waiting Herefordshire Liberal Democrats have published their own draft terms of reference.
This follows a motion passed by a majority of Herefordshire Councillors on 6th March. This gave the Conservatives twelve months to talk to Gloucestershire County Council, the government and local businesses and to find a source of external funding for a feasibility study.
In an open letter sent to Cllr Philip Price the cabinet member responsible for the work, Cllr Louis Stark asked for an update on progress and offered a draft set of terms of reference.
"I don't believe the administration has lifted a finger on this project in the past two months" Cllr Stark said.
"An interested party with experience in a similar project contacted me with a suggested draft terms of reference. I thought it might give Cllr Price the nudge he needs. We won't get any sense of whether the government or private investors will be interested in supporting a feasibility study unless we can show them what the study will cover. That's what the terms of reference cover. This motion was passed by a clear majority. It is council policy and it is the administration's job to deliver council policy."
Louis Stark is the Councillor for Ross West and speaks for the Liberal Democrat Group on Herefordshire Council on environment policy.
The draft terms of reference document is available to dowload here.
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