Rother Valley Railway

Within reason anyone can say anything at an inquiry and others may challenge it. It’s part of the inspector’s job to cut through the crap and report upon the germane.

 

You could also point out that the Highland Clearances were carried out by Scottish troops, at the behest of Scottish lairds, who wanted thousands of crofters evicted so they could replace them with a handful of shepherds and thousands of sheep, and make more money. That usually goes down well!

 

Furthermore at the time those Scottish elites responsible routinely described the Highland crofters as "Irish", because Scots was not their first language.

 

What have the Germans got to do with it!

 

Don't mention the war.

 

IIRC the K&ESR staff had a Home Guard platoon.

 

I understood it was to do with a car he owned with massive wings. Who remembers the bat ladder. Squezed in at the last minute with a request to stop at pole ??

 

RVR on the Politics today programme, BBC told a pack of lies over its portrayal the highways agency has not opposed the level crossing, nor has the environmental agency . yet the BBC reporter clearly stated they have. so where's the even handedness and no mension that the farmer owns other farmland they are intending to redevelop for housing, at least Mr Hoad wasn't as opposed , he stated his problem, Mr Anstey on the other hand, I suspect has plans for his land, and having a railway running across a housing estate, wont make as much money for him.

 

I am sick of the BBC and their "through the looking glass" take on news and current affairs. High time I, like so many others have, stopped paying into this public propaganda machine. They Always say that the best lies contain a grain of truth, and that is something that the mainstream media have down to a fine art, now.

 

Nail...head. Well said

 

I've tried looking for this programme on the BBC iPlayer. What was the actual programme name? South East Today perhaps?

 

sunday politics its towards the end, where they focus on local issues

 

Thanks. I'll wait for that to appear on the list. Won't be available yet.

 

Hugh Meeriman was on it, he did correct the report and stated that the Highways agency in fact had not opposed it, neither had the environmental Agency, but the damage has been done, as, to the uninformed, they would have seen the BBC reporter state that these two organisations were opposed when they are not, So who did the BBC approach for this programme ?

 

To be fair to Ms Rudd, Hastings suffers disproportionately as regards south coast towns by having lousy road connections to the rest of the wider South East region* - and this negatively affects small and medium sized enterprises ( the 'engine room' of economic activity and general economic well being) who rely on this method of transport. She inherited this situation when she became an MP and is relatively powerless to do anything to fundamentally fix the problem.

Namely, if a place is unattractive to conduct business then the local economy including job figures etc will look bad - and in this day and age that means having decent road connectivity. Equally a perceived ' hard to access' means people are less likely to be casual visitors - for example if its a nice day and the family facies a trip to the seaside, then quite a lot of folk jump in their cars to the likes of Brighton (which is where park & ride schemes are valuable) because its 'easy to get to'

Just as towns that had their railways removed by Beeching have tended to suffer in growth and 'attractiveness' terms to work, live and spend leisure time in, the statistics prove the same can be seen in towns left behind with respect of road improvements compared to others. Hastings might well be a nice place but if it takes too long to get there folk will pump for more convenient locations and its area of economic influence is reduced.

The upshot of all this means places like Hastings tend to end up as the dumping grounds for the worst of society's problems - a relatively depressed economic situation, plus a relative surplus of housing / hostels / hotel rooms means that its always going to be a struggle to rejuvenate such places by the relevant local authorities / individual MPs

The problem is its not within her power as a backbencher / Home secretary / junior minister to give Hastings the road upgrade it needs - hence she is making a big deal about the proposed level crossing as its about the only thing she can have an input to.


*If you pock up a map and head west to east then you have the following dual carriageway roads linking them up to the M25 :-

Southampton -M3
Portsmouth - A3(M)
Chichester - A3(M) then A27
Worthing A24 (via M23 & A264 to Horsham)
Brighton A23 / M23

Eastbourne - like Hastings a bit of a black hole (unless the A27 between Lewes & Polgate gets upgraded)
Hastings - Terrible! Literally miles from any decent bit of road, be that North, East or West!

Folkestone / Dover - M20
Thanet - A2 / M2 / A299

In my opinion this once again shows up the UKs inability to plan for the long term and to get a grip with the needs of the country rather than the needs of the individual. For places like Hastings to be given a fair chance of success in the modern world they need popper transport links which INCLUDES roads - not just railways, cycleways or lectures about taking public transport. In the SouthEast the A21 should be a fully grade separated dual carriageway from the M25 to the coast while a similar standard road should extend from Southamption right round to at least Ashford. Yes it will be expensive, and yes it might have to feature a lot of tunnelling to limit environmental damage etc but the economy of East Sussex in particular needs it! (just as electrification of the Marshlink and extension of Javelin services to Hastings via Rye would improve things significantly as far as rail connectedness / attractiveness is concerned

 

Have to agree with Phils post, Hastings is terrible to get to, I regularly travel to Swindon where I have family, and, it takes longer, to get from here to the M25 than it does to get from M25 to M4 , A419,
Yes the road should have been duel carriageway from the M25 to a point where a link road should have been built to take traffic towards Brighton, and the A27 and give a coastal main road from Dover to Portsmouth. because the present A road isn't fit for modern traffic needs .
Electrifying the Hastings to Ashford line also has to be done, it may not necessarily mean faster jouney times between Hastings and Ashford, but electric traction accelerates faster but at least it will mean 4 car trains instead of overcrowded 150'S , South eastern would in effect be running trains that would split at Tonbridge, that then run out either via ashford or Tunbridge wells, which might offer a better service.

 

Indisputably incorrect statements are still supposedly a matter concern for the mindless drones allegedly responsible for news & current affairs editing. Anyone local-ish to the RVR and considering escalating matters to BBC complaints should note that a separate email stands a better chance of a response (i.e. next to nil) than the proforma dustbin on their website. Including the names of producer (/ production company) and director gives the impression you're paying attention and if you've a friendly MP, don't forget to cc: (not bcc: be it noted) them when sending ... for some odd reason, it tends to focus minds. MP's can get a tad twitchy about the factual accuracy of news output ... especially at the moment ..... and anyway, Auntie needs an enema.


Good Luck ......

 

I remember in the 1980s when the line was electrified from Tonbridge to Bopeep Juncion. Some people thought the third rail was going to be the panacea for all ills as far as Hastings was concerned. "Do you know, the trains will only take an hour from London to Hastings after electrification?" someone told me. I just smiled........

 

Even when we've got trains on the Brighton line these days, it seems they can be stuck at one signal for three times as long. That's progress for you .....

I keep telling myself that one day the upgrades and maintenance backlog will be under something resembling control. Convincing myself I'll still be around to see that happy day is a different matter entirely!