TRACKBED PETITION

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Keswick to Penrith Railway Re-opening
TRACKBED PETITION


In 2008 there was an on-line petition requesting that the Prime Minister instruct Ministers to ensure all former rail corridors are protected for use as transport corridors The petition closed in April 2008 with 918 signatories listed. The Government responded that the burden of responsibility lay with Local Authorities to identify and protect trackbeds which could have potential for re-opening. This has always been the case, but the problem is that many Local Authorities do not have the knowledge or expertise to carry out such evaluations, or do not realise what benefits a re-opened line could bring. Also, rail routes often cross Local Authority boundaries, and not all the Authorities along a particular route might see the potential in the same light. Protecting parts of a route, but not others, achieves nothing. The effect is similar to somebody standing on a hosepipe and wondering why no water flows. A Railway route, trackbed or alignment is a single entity from end to end. It can not be considered in chunks or sections - which is how most Local Authority Planners are accustomed to thinking.

More details from the petition creator: To ensure countrywide protection in planning and development legislation of disused rail corridors. To provide for their re use as rail lines should circumstances permit. To facilitate their development as 'Greenways', or transport corridors for cyclists, walkers, horse riders and wheelchair users. To extend nationally the network of successful routes which have been developed by Sustrans in conjunction with Local Authorities and other bodies, such as the Spen Valley Greenway in Kirklees, West Yorkshire.
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The Directors of CKP Railways plc signed up to this petition.

More details from the petition creator: