Title: Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019 Post by: grahame on March 04, 2019, 19:13:52 Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019, Melksham Town Hall, 19:30
Public meeting - all welcome 1. Changes to Car Parking arrangements at Melksham Station from June 2019 2. Melksham Station Hub - Coffee Shop, Information, Warm Waiting and a friendly volunteer smile - update 3. Timetable changes from December 2019 to fit in with new faster main line timetable These changes are all pretty significant and there are elements of the parking and timetable changes that will not be at all popular. We encourage all users and potential users to come along on 20th and learn from Paul Johnson of TransWilts about car parking and the Hub, and from [one of us to be agreed] about the likely timetable changes. These have been partially shared with us late in the day, with very limited potential indeed for amendment to suit local needs - but we can try. Melksham Rails User Group officers meet at the end of this week to finalise the agenda and documentation, and to review possible actions / responses that may come from the meeting. Further information - info@mrug.org.uk Title: Re: Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019 Post by: ChrisB on March 05, 2019, 09:44:11 I'm guessing that you've become popular enough at attracting customers that they've decded to start charging for car parking?
Title: Re: Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019 Post by: grahame on March 05, 2019, 10:03:12 I'm guessing that you've become popular enough at attracting customers that they've decded to start charging for car parking? A somewhat deeper story than that - the secretary / chair / vice chair of MRUG are being briefed / updated on Thursday in preparation for the MRUG meeting to which all are welcome on 20th. Timing is such that anyone at the TravelWatch SouthWest meeting will be comfortably able to make the Melksham meeting too. The first figures I was given for Melksham passenger numbers by the ORR were around 3,000 journeys per annum. We're now at around 75,000. If you look at journeys per head of population in the catchment and make comparison, if you talk with people here about, you'll get an understanding that with all of the ducks in a line those numbers should increase to around a quarter of a million. The number of people parking now roughly equates to the number of spaces in the main car park, and there's a need to provide more (one of the ducks); currently, there's additional parking by the station gate - but that needs to be moved away from all-day parking into a more formally arranged kiss-and-ride area for safety's sake (another duck) ... and so it goes on. Buses ... Come along on 20th ... learn more ;D Title: Re: Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019 Post by: ChrisB on March 05, 2019, 11:08:57 I would if I could!....but the same apology to you that I have given to TWSW...I'm in Jersey on the 19th evening & Newcastle on the evening of the 20th already....
Title: Re: Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019 Post by: grahame on March 05, 2019, 11:19:47 I would if I could!....but the same apology to you that I have given to TWSW...I'm in Jersey on the 19th evening & Newcastle on the evening of the 20th already.... No problem, ChrisB - the evening meeting is a public one, but it's "Melksham Rail User Group" - timed for arrivals on "Train 2000" and the previous one, and anticipating that people will be going home locally within the catchment when the meeting finishes. Note for other readers - we will be done in time for the late bus to Bath and I'm sure lifts back to Chippenham or Trowbridge, which have trains running up to a sensible time later in the evening, will be available! Title: Re: Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019 Post by: grahame on March 08, 2019, 09:02:54 19:30 on Monday 25th March 2019, Melksham Town Council consider the planning application which has been lodged with Wiltshire Council by TransWilts for the Melksham Hub.
https://planning.wiltshire.gov.uk/Northgate/PlanningExplorer/ApplicationSearch.aspx and enter 19/01827/FUL Quote 1 Station Approach Melksham SN12 8BN Expansion of existing car park by change of use of open storage and administration building to car park, and change of use of administration building to community cafe with associated external facilities including new storage shed. Melksham Rail User Group officers were briefed by the TransWilts team yesterday in preparation for the meetings on 20th and 25th March. Initial feedback positive (and so it should be - a great deal of work has gone into making these excellent plans that everyone can get behind). Title: Re: Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019 Post by: grahame on March 14, 2019, 12:31:39 An update on the hub and meeting published into today's Melksham News - page 9 - on line edition at https://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=e45a5471-2e6d-4694-9a3c-160d71ec9a40 , screen capture at http://www.wellho.net/pix/mkmhub_min_20190314.jpg .
Title: Re: Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019 Post by: grahame on March 26, 2019, 07:09:11 19:00 on Monday 25th March 2019, Melksham Town Council consider the planning application which has been lodged with Wiltshire Council by TransWilts for the Melksham Hub. https://planning.wiltshire.gov.uk/Northgate/PlanningExplorer/ApplicationSearch.aspx and enter 19/01827/FUL Last night, Melksham Town Council discussed (and welcomed) the plans for the Melksham Hub - conversion of exisiting building into a cafe / community facility, provision of extra parking, and safer access from the parking to the station - all part of the Melkahsm Master Plan. All part of a presentation by Paul Johnson of TransWilts. The plans are in Wiltshire Council application 19/01827/FUL which is open for comment for a further week. Paul and those involved have done an excellent job of putting all the jigsaw pieces together and I hope this goes though - I would be very surprised if the planners said "no" as I haven't seen any objections and it's well thought through with a "pre-app" test already made. Full application on the Wiltshire Council web site by that ref. no above. I have mirrored a copy of the TransWilts overview document {{here}} (http://www.mrug.org.uk/hub_201903.pdf) and sample plans of the whole area {{here}} (http://www.mrug.org.uk/hub_201903_5.pdf) and of the cafe {{here}} (http://www.mrug.org.uk/hub_201903_7.pdf). (http://www.mrug.org.uk/hubplan5.png) Title: Re: Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019 Post by: Phil on March 26, 2019, 11:10:54 Where the plans propose that the "existing 20 station parking spaces remain as current layout", does this number include the half dozen or so reserved Rail User spaces outside of the boundary fence, and if so what's to happen to the two or three spaces which are reserved for Reeds staff (which is nonsensical given that Reeds no longer rent the property)?
I'm just very conscious that given the potential growth for Melksham station, every potential parking space there is like gold-dust. Considering Westbury station as an example, a new, extended car-park opened just two weeks ago, and this morning there wasn't a space to be found. Title: Re: Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019 Post by: grahame on March 26, 2019, 11:57:18 Where the plans propose that the "existing 20 station parking spaces remain as current layout", does this number include the half dozen or so reserved Rail User spaces outside of the boundary fence, and if so what's to happen to the two or three spaces which are reserved for Reeds staff (which is nonsensical given that Reeds no longer rent the property)? I'm just very conscious that given the potential growth for Melksham station, every potential parking space there is like gold-dust. Considering Westbury station as an example, a new, extended car-park opened just two weeks ago, and this morning there wasn't a space to be found. Transformation of existing spaces and space
AJ Reed (2) and Novocast (6 ish) spaces all become Novocast (8 ish) spaces, I believe So:
There is an interesting discussion to be had with various things going on concerning buses to the station. With TransWilts CIC taking on the land and car parking themselves and running it as a business, they're looking to ensure they make sufficient income to be viable. There will be customers and potential customers who cannot practically walk to the station, so drive ... but would prefer to use a bus service if one were available. And I am worried that it might be in TransWilts' commercial interest to oppose bus provision, even though it's in their terms of reference to encourage public transport use. There are people who live in Melksham who cannot easily walk to the station, have no car available, cannot afford a daily taxi, and would make use of the train if only they could get there ... perhaps by bus. It is in the interest of those people, in the interest of the train operator (more journeys), in the interest of the bus operator (filling more seats - did you see the cry for local passengers in the latest MIN??) to have the minibuses at least calling at the station sooner rather than later. I have not been aware of this discussion anywhere - though I note that "buses to the station" may be a "soon" subject for some of us but seemed to be much further down the line (if you'll excuse the pun) at last night's presentation to the Town Council. Title: Re: Melksham Rail User Group (MRUG) meeting - Wednesday 20th March 2019 Post by: Lee on March 26, 2019, 12:16:49 My suggestion would be for MRUG to push bus provision as hard as they can. On whether or not it is in TransWilts commercial interest or not, I rather suspect it would end up being such a marginal thing that the potential good PR all round may well end up outweighing the commercial considerations.
In all honesty, with Melksham the biggest problem has always been trying to persuade local authorities and bus companies of the merits of linking the right bus services with the right train services, and that concern would still be top of my list. grahame - We've worked together on numerous bus and rail proposals in the past, and im more than willing to help you and MRUG have another go on this. This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |