Shawford Station & Parking
Shawford Station & Parking
The Parish Council is aware of an ‘anonymous’ note which was left on windscreens of some cars parked at the Shawford Station last week referring to parking and train service issues.
No changes are currently proposed to parking arrangements. The Parish Council’s position continues to be as set out in our response to the Department for Transport franchise consultation. The Chair of the Parish Council has met with, and conveyed the concerns expressed in the letter, to the two bidders for this franchise.
We will continue to work with all stakeholders, the local residents’ association and the rail user group to find ways of providing additional parking at the station and to ensure current train service levels are maintained. This is all wrapped up with the retendering for the current South Western Rail Franchise, which will be awarded early in 2017.
We published the response letter as an appendix to the minutes of the PC Meeting held on 1 March 2016.
See https://comptonshawford-pc.gov.uk/download/minutes/current-year/Minutes_2016-03-01.pdf
For ease of reference, the text of the letter is reproduced below:
Compton and Shawford Parish Council
PO Box 565, Winchester,
Hampshire SO23 3HG
Phone:01962 600198
email:
South Western Consultation Co-ordinator
Department for Transport
4/15 Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London SW1P 4DR
5 February 2016
Dear Co-ordinator,
South Western Rail Franchise Consultation Document: Shawford Station
I am writing on behalf of Compton and Shawford Parish Council, in response to the South Western Franchise Consultation Document.
Shawford Station, south of Winchester, serves a large population and those villages between the major stations of Winchester and Eastleigh. The station has shown strong growth over the last decade and provides a vital and valued transport service to the community. It is used for long distance, local commuting and recreational journeys. It enables the local population to travel from a local station, without the need to travel into a city centre, creating congestion and other environmental issues. Whilst local car parking remains an issue, there has been a noticeable shift to other forms of transport to the station, such as cycling and walking.
The Parish Council would like to make the following specific points relating to Shawford Railway Station:
- Service pattern – That the current seven-day peak and off peak service pattern, including first and last services with Southampton as the primary southern destination, is retained as the minimum contracted service for the new franchise. The council would not support ‘skip stopping’ for Shawford and fails to see how this would help.
- More investment in the Shawford Station infrastructure – particularly increases to on site car and cycle parking. The council considers that there is Network Rail land, in the form of an old station house and other land, which could be available for such use.
The council supports the local Rail User Group and the concerns expressed by the local residents’ association, which relate to parking in the vicinity of the railway station.
Yours faithfully,
David A Drake
David A Drake OBE
Clerk