Last night, the Halesowen Community Forum for five Dudley wards, their 15 councillors and about 50 citizens from those places in the south of Dudley borough met and considered this proposition:
"DO YOU SUPPORT SAVING OVER £100 MILLION, by campaigning for the Dudley Tram, now that it is on the Black Country Railway (part of one London to Edinburgh mainline), to stay on it, in order to connect with the national railway network at Stourbridge Jct? This will save at least £100 million from NOT building a tramway viaduct to destroy housing land, public open space, nature and my vertical guerrilla garden at Merry Hill Shopping Centre."
No one spoke in opposition or voted against. One person asked if it would affect the operation of the Stourbridge Shuttle. I answered 'No. That short branch line is separate from the mainline used by the tram and freight trains to Round Oak.
MORE DETAIL
Saving over £100 m in this way, would stop the influx of Dudley town shoppers descending on Merry Hill when Dudley traders want and need the custom to help them survive.
Merry Hill was given the monorail in the 1990s but chose not to keep it.
Merry Hill has always had free car parking. It should not be given a tramway for free, too.
Keeping the tram on the railway to Stourbridge Jct still enables a bus service from the tram at Round Oak or Hart's Hill into Merry Hill.
Freight trains would continue at night, with the tram on the railway in the daytime.
Saving over £100 m would strengthen the case for bus franchising - by paying for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment