albrighton & district civic society

ALBRIGHTON & DISTRICT CIVIC SOCIETY (ADCS)
(Albrighton, Boningale, Donington-with-Boscobel and Tong)

Below is the Press Release just issued after the meeting:-

MP’s intervention boosts campaign to save Albrighton Station Access Ramp

Residents of Albrighton and district were pleased to have an easier pedestrian access ramp to their Station for 6 months last year - this was installed by Network Rail while the old footbridge was refurbished. The ramp enabled easier access particularly for the elderly, mums with pushchairs & toddlers and people with luggage. Some disabled residents found that they could now go on the train as the four flights of stairs of the footbridge prevented that. On discovering that Network Rail planned to demolish it in February 2014, residents collected more than 1700 signatures in a petition to retain the ramp facility as a local asset and Albrighton & District Civic Society took on the role of managing the campaign, supported by Shropshire Council and the four Parish Councils of Albrighton, Boningale, Donington-with-Boscobel and Tong.
Efforts to get the parties to meet the Civic Society and councillors met resistance until local Member of Parliament, Mark Pritchard, called a meeting of Network Rail, London Midland Trains and EE Communications together with the Civic Society and local councillors at Albrighton’s Red House village hall on 10th January 2014.
Very good progress was made at the meeting and all parties agreed in principle on the way forward to retain the ramp. The details of this agreement should be finalised by the end of March 2014. Mark Pritchard MP, who chaired the meeting, said: "Many Councillors and residents have worked very hard on this issue over many months. Discussions with all the stakeholders were constructive concerning the ramp's long term future. However, there is still much more work to do in ensuring the ramp remains in place permanently. I think the general view is cautious optimism"

Those attending the meeting were:-
Network Rail – owner of the Station
London Midland Trains - operator of the trains and Station
EE Mobile Communications – owner of the land on which the ramp was built
Shropshire Council Chairman Cllr Malcolm Pate
Councillors: David Beechey, David Thomas, Peter Hurlstone, Peter Mycroft-
chairmen of the Parish Councils of Albrighton, Boningale, Donington-with-Boscobel and Tong respectively
Peter Woodman – Chairman Albrighton & District Civic Society
Rod Smith – Secretary Albrighton & District Civic Society
Mike Pitchford – Treasurer Albrighton & District Civic Society
Ron Kidson – Albrighton & District Civic Society

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The meeting last Friday turned out to be far better than we could have hoped. All external parties turned up and Mark Pritchard chaired the meeting with great expertise and step by step got the reluctant ones to be reasonable. We had certainly done our homework and were well prepared and we had spent a considerable amount of effort in briefing Mark beforehand and his handling of the participants was the key to the meeting’s success. All our Councillors were excellent and there was a real ‘Albrighton and District’ positive can do atmosphere and it was so good to see us all working together to make this meeting a success. All those people who have worked so hard on this campaign over several months would have been pleased to see us all pulling together.

for more information please see www AlbrightonAndDistrictCivicSociety.co.uk or contact:
Peter Woodman –Chairman (T: 372225) 31/32 High St or Rod Smith -Secretary (T: 372765)