Agenda item

(1)       In introducing the report of the Select Committee, Miss Carey said that Mr Ray Parker was unable to attend the meeting.  Miss Carey placed on record her thanks to her fellow Members of the Select Committee and the officers who had supported it during the course of its work.  Miss Carey said that the Select Committee had welcomed the investment which was proposed in respect of the Kent Rail Network.  It was essential that Kent had access to modern, fast and efficient services and that these needed to be coupled with improved connections to the rest of the country.  In its business model, South East Trains expect services to be full during peak periods, but have spaces available during the off peak and therefore this could present an opportunity to develop them for other uses to such as tourism.  Miss Carey said that the Select Committee also wanted a review produced of stations that would be served by the High Speed Rail Service and for this and, to identify and prioritise work needed to those stations and station access and for these to be in place in or soon after the December 2009 launch.  She said the Select Committee also wanted to see lobbying undertaken to secure the introduction of low fares to ensure the early success for High Speed Services.  In highlighting other recommendations which the Select Committee had set out in its report, Miss Carey also said that the bus and rail companies should be encouraged to introduce more promotional off-peak fares, joint passes, through tickets (such as the BusPlus pass) and Open Jaw Tickets.

(2)       Mr Daley placed on record his thanks to Miss Carey for her work as Chairman of the Select Committee and also to the officers who had supported it in its work.  He said the objective of the Select Committee had been to try and not only identify the benefits of the rail service within the county but also to highlight the dis- benefits.  He said that the Members of Cabinet had before them an executive summary of a report which was much more detailed and he commended those who had not already, to read the full report.  He said that the High Speed line would improve service for areas such as Folkestone, Dover and Canterbury but would have less of an impact for services to which served Thanet.  He also said that there needed to be significant investment undertaken on the Mid Kent line in order to improve services and to encourage growth.  He said it was also essential that the Thames Link services had a connection into Mid Kent and there was still a need to maintain what could be referred to as the “classic” lines.  Mr Daley said the County Council should press for a link to Ebbsfleet and Gatwick to be provided from the Medway Valley line  and also spoke about integrated transport patterns and the need to link those aspirations into the recommendations and outcomes from the report of the Select Committee.  He said that this report should be seen as ongoing and he hoped that it would be kept and developed as a “live” document.

(3)       Mr Lynes said that the rail authorities needed to focus on developing rail services which attracted people into the county to visit as tourists or to shop.  Therefore, the rail companies needed to invest and develop off peak services as a mechanism to attract tourists and shoppers and as part of that the County Council had to play its part by being in a position to both facilitate and offer integrated transport solutions.  Mr Lynes also said  that the Select Committee report presented the County Council with a opportunity to develop a clear vision as to what it believed rail services within the county should look like and based on that the rail companies needed to be sent a robust response as to what the County Council expected to see in terms of rail provision across the county.

(4)       Mr Gibbens said that he welcomed the report and that the development of the High Speed link would be a key to regeneration, especially in areas of East Kent.  He said there was two particular issues which needed to be taken up with the rail companies and that was improving commuting links into London, especially from East Kent and coupling that with the need to improve off-peak services to encourage tourism and greater use of rail for shopping purposes.  He said that the Select Committee report also provided an opportunity for there to be a wide ranging and robust discussion about developing integrated transport systems and improving transport links particularly in and around railway stations which of themselves needed to be improved.  Mr Sutch said that he welcomed the findings of the Report and said that he would recommend that the Department of Transport be involved in any further discussions with the rail companies.  In  concluding the discussion, Mr Carter thanked the Select Committee for its report and said that the opportunity needed to be taken to use its findings as part of a campaign to lobby South East trains and Government for improved rail services across the county.  He said he would be meeting in the near future with Lord Adonis and he said that the Cabinet  needed to look in detail at these important issues before the report was submitted to the County Council.