Rother Valley Railway

A far better use of Ms Rudd's time would be spent on tackling the problems of her constituency , beggars on the streets, rough sleepers, drug and alcohol abuse, lack of affordable housing, I'm writing to my local paper about this, the A21, is none of her business when Hastings has so many problems and to be honest, if the ORR have no objection, its they who I take note of, not a second rate MP, who has shown no interest in her constituents. And anyway, with Hastings and Robertsbridge on the same rail route, you would think she would be in favour of a tourist attraction that might take cars off the A21, if that's what she is so concernd about,

 

She is asking about a matter that is important to her constituents - the quality of travel to London. That is her right and, dare I suggest, her duty.

That the survey question is loaded is another question entirely.


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Edit: PS: it doesn't ask for one's name, nor one's location. So even contributors to this forum from overseas can vote if they are so inclined.

 

Which, as far as I can see, makes it all a total farce. Ideally only those within a - say forty mile radius - should be considered as they are the ones to lose or gain from this.

 

'That the survey is loaded is another question"..........

My own frequent thoughts about this sort of thing is:
"Why isn't there the question I need to answer here?"

The question is a safe one.
The first thought strikiing anyone in Hastings will be to be against worse traffic on one of the trunk roads out of the locality.
Once they have got this stuck in their minds tactfully explaining and convincing them that
it's actually not at all so simple will be delicate and difficult.

(The best bet to relieve the road traffic would probably be to electrify to Ashford while there is still the capacity on HS2.
Nothing short of something on this sort of scale would have the needful capacity and the countryside between
Hastings and Tunbridge is rather too good for much major civil engineering.)

 

I think people are confusing that survey for a piece of objective analytical research. Of course it’s not: it’s nakedly political. No doubt the results will be widely trumpeted if they confirm Amber Rud’s own view; and quietly forgotten if they don’t.

Tom

 

Have to agree about electrification, but that alone would not give a quicker service, ok the ability to have the Ore service run beyond Ore to Ashford with 4 cars instead of 2 will help with overcrowding but the route of the line does not allow fast running , As regards traffic in the A21, yes its a pain, but not as much as further duelling would have, and of course the Nimby's would block any such road schemes, Rudd I suspect is most likely not doing this out of public concern, but out of influential friends of friends who might just happen to be in her party .

 

Given her current marginal electoral position, she no doubt wants to keep as many local Tory supporters as possible behind her.

 

Well my feelings about her are crystal clear, we need an MP regardless of party who will stand up for Hastings, she is conspictious by her public low level of visibility, either that or she has an invisibility cloak We have far more pressing needs here in Hastings than worrying about whats happening 10 miles down the road in someone else's constituency , as I said, this is one of the most deprived areas in the south, and she has done zilch, we have murders here, drug dealing, rough sleeping, beggars, the local roads near me are more pot holes than roads, in my book the people of Hastings deserve better.

 

I was under the impression that most of the Tory voters in the constituency were over in the East, rather than in Hastings itself.

 

Dunno about you, but I'm leaning towards making 'Option B' happen.

 

Multiple browsers on multiple devices = seven votes in favour.

 

Then delete the cookies and do another seven.

 

if everyone can support this, it would help, I note her apparent support for " Wealthy hard pressed farmers " who as she sees it are being abused for holding out who are not even in her ward ,

 

Which emphasises the comments in my post 824. So, will supporters of landowners, farmers that read here will be encourage to do the same but against the extension? I am sure they are as 'up to the game' as posters here.

 

Methinks that's all the more reason to level the playing field. Using online 'polls' of this nature is at best crude, at worst.... open to outright abuse and blatant manipulation and no-one will convince me those behind it are so stupid as not to realise it .... they're just hoping we don't.

The cynic in me says that's precisely the reason such half-baked confidence tricks are so popular with the abysmally pathetic lunatics who make it in today's UK politics (who votes for these numpties?) and those slimey minions who infest our supposedly independent media. So yes .... abuse this feeble excuse for a PR stunt with a clear conscience, you can bet the opposition will be doing so. It deserves nothing better.

The sooner the sort of meaningless gerrymandering being engaged in by (among others) Ms Rudd is kicked firmly into touch, the better for us all IMHO.

 

Given that Heathrow will be getting quite a lot more ‘blacktop’, a mile of so of Railway in East Sussex (affecting only two landowners one of which has an application in for 180 houses on another farm they own) seems (a tiny drop) in a very large ocean, Mr planning inspector...

Robin

 

But it is not just two landowners that are complaining as far as I can see.
This link must have gained many supporters.
http://greatrobertsbridgetrainrobbery.co.uk/
I note the mention of houses. They could be seen as more important than a tourist train - of which the country already has plenty of choice.
I have no dog in the fight, neither do I live anywhere near the area, so the outcome will not affect me. However I believe those that do should have more to say than those who do not.

 

That’s an emotional argument, not a planning one though, Robin. Each application needs to be assessed in its own light and on its own criteria, surely.

Tom

 

I am a resident of Sussex, although don't live in the immediate area and find the post by @Greenway [#838] perfectly reasonable. Where I will pitch into the debate, beyond any statement of broad support, is where some self-promoting egotist has the bare-faced cheek to claim to speak for me, or attempt blatant manipulation under some false flag 'consensus of local interest'. Count the disingenuous 'opinion poll' of Ms Amber "not the local MP" Rudd among those and unless she's already sorted them all out, the lady's own constituency faces it's own challenges .... which she was elected to address.

Comments were made and reported by those who attended the L&B extension inquiry that the thrust of arguments from many supporters spoke of what the revived railway would mean for the wider community, whilst much opposition demonstrated precious little consideration for anyone or anything beyond the objector themselves. Do local property developers, who are planning lucrative but equally contentious schemes, come into the same category? That's a question we and the planning officials all need to answer for ourselves.

On Exmoor, much of, let's say dubious veracity was touted as the only widely held local standpoint, a porkie which was laid bare at the planning meeting when many, who loud and self-obsessed objectors hitherto claimed to speak for, actually spoke for themselves. Suddenly, the claims of blanket local opposition vanished like morning mist in the sun.

The same arrogant assumption of unquestioning support for the purely NIMBY 'Over my dead body' approach exists everywhere. Far from being some last bastion of local life, the rantings of NIMBY's very often end up drowning out genuinely held local concerns, but such is the nature of the NIMBY, they wouldn't care if they deigned to notice, let alone take account of anyone or anything beyond their own viewpoint .... it goes with the territory.

As was the case on Exmoor a couple of months back, there will be folk living in the Rother Valley with genuine concerns which go beyond mere NIMBY nonsense and they deserve to have their valid concerns properly investigated and addressed. I'd hope for no less myself in their situation .... wouldn't you?