Department of Transport Incompetence

Residents may have recently received some propaganda from HS2 Ltd about the plans for a proposed railway line.

There are some more realistic reports in the media today (3rd March) about gross incompetence and bungling by the Department of Transport and Network Rail which are evident in the current attempt to upgrade the Great Western Railway.

Full report:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4277098/MPs-blast-unacceptable-handling-Rail-upgrade.html

And:
http://www.cityam.com/259892/hs2-delays-controversial-contract-award-ch2m-meets-mace

Jerry Marshall - HS2 and the Future of Transport

Jerry Marshall, a resident of Burton Green and campaigner against HS2, took part in a discussion on the Sunday Politics show on BBC2 on Sunday (2nd March). The context of the discussion was a proposal to create an engineering centre in the Birmingham area.

A video of the 5-minute discussion been posted on YouTube by StopHS2. You can watch that video here:



Also taking part in the discussion were Tristram Hunt, Labour Transport spokesman, and Paul Uppal, a Conservative.

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Editorial Comment

Some useful insights into the future of transport, and the place of high-speed rail, if any, can be gained from America. The debate about high-speed rail in America has also become politicised.

You may find the following selection of articles interesting; many of these stories are still developing:

High-speed rail in California runs into a low-speed process
"With teleconferencing a reality and driverless cars on the way, bullet trains don’t seem so cutting-edge anymore... one reason we don’t have national high-speed rail, and probably never will, is that this is America."

How Republicans Killed America's High-Speed Rail Plan

Obama Replaces Costly High-Speed Rail Plan With High-Speed Bus Plan

As cities improve rapid transit, buses get a new look

CNN Exposes Obama’s High-Speed Rail Boondoggle
A 'boondogle' is an American term meaning "an unnecessary, wasteful, or fraudulent project": Boondoggle (Wikipedia)

Elon Musk Says California High-Speed Rail Is Backwards

Elon Musk's Original Blog Article on High-Speed Rail
"When the California high speed rail was approved, I was quite disappointed. How could it be that the home of Silicon Valley and JPL – doing incredible things like indexing all the world’s knowledge and putting rovers on Mars – would build a bullet train that is both one of the most expensive per mile and one of the slowest in the world?....."

Is Hyperloop a Realistic Alternative to High-Speed Rail?

The successful Victorian railway system, that Britain exported to the world, was not the product of a mediocre state bureaucracy. It was developed and financed by private entrepreneurs, who were able to assess the costs, rewards and risks involved; people like Elon Musk. 


Where would these trains be designed and built?

The BBC program seemed to suggest to viewers that the intention was to design high-speed trains in the UK, possibly at a site near Birmingham.

Many people had previously thought that the intention was to purchase the technology, and possibly the trains, already built, from the Chinese. David Cameron has already made approaches, of some form, to the Chinese.

It has also been suggested that, legally, any contract to build the trains would need to be put to an open tender, and that that would be likely to be won by the French, who would be in a position to make the most competitive bid.

Parish Council Elections - Nominations

This is the substance of an E-mail from Dr Paul Thornton, that is being circulated within the village:

The establishment of the Parish Council for Burton Green is key to the campaign against HS2 and the mitigation locally.

There are a good many people who are very much part of the Burton Green community but who actually live just across the Coventry or Solihull boundaries. 

It had previously been announced that three new councillors would simply be co-opted by the existing four Burton Green councillors  who are transferring from the previous combined Parish Council that covered Burton Green, Ashow, Stoneleigh and University. The new councillors will now be elected.

Nomination forms need to be completed in and returned to the Returning Officer at Riverside House, Milverton Hill, Leamington CV32 5HZ by noon this Wednesday. 4^th April. The timescale for this is very tight.  

Only residents who live in the Warwickshire Burton Green ward will be eligible to vote, but there is the facility for individuals  who are resident outside the ward to stand for the election.

It is hugely important for the credibility of the new council in its dealings with HS2 and others that its councillors are seen to  have a democratic mandate, having been elected from as good a pool of candidates as possible. This becomes all the more important as, co-incidentally, restrictions on the powers of Parish Councils have been lifted, and they have new responsibilities - particularly in respect of planning decisions - under the new Localism Act.  

Further information about those changes is available at these links:

A plain English guide to the Localism Act (PDF)

Neighbourhood Planning in Localism Act - Commons Library Standard Note (PDF)

The nomination pack also included a copy of electoral commission guidance that is on line at this link:

Parish Council Elections - Guidance for Candidates

Which is linked off this webpage where there is more detailed information:

Parish and community council elections

There is more information about becoming a councillor here:

Warwickshire County Council - Becoming a Councillor

None of the above implies any criticism of anyone who might already have allowed themselves to be nominated for the election. Quite the contrary applies.