Metrowest Status

[whole diary]

[grahame]

As for North Somerset - the irony is of course that by not joining in, the population balance is roughly 50/50 between Bristol and SG/BANES, whereas if North Somerset joined in, the balance would be far more in their favour. Perhaps they are holding out to join Devon and Cornwall in some kind of West of England superstate?

I recall at one time North Somerset was part of Somerset ... perhaps they're looking to work with the team at Taunton on public transport support and development once again?    Would this be a good idea?

[Bmblbzzz]

In terms of the Portishead line specifically or more generally commuting to Bristol, it wouldn't. It might be that a large number of N.Som residents do commute or otherwise travel regularly to Taunton, though. But I don't think their reasons for rejecting the "metro mayor" idea were anything to do with transport.

[grahame]

In terms of the Portishead line specifically or more generally commuting to Bristol, it wouldn't. It might be that a large number of N.Som residents do commute or otherwise travel regularly to Taunton, though. But I don't think their reasons for rejecting the "metro mayor" idea were anything to do with transport.

Frome, which is (already) in the main Somerset seems more generally used for commuting to Bath (and Trowbridge), with their transport controls in Taunton being regarded as illogical by many.  So I have to agree that having Portishead in Somerset was something I suggested somewhat in devil's advocate mode!

[Noggin]

In terms of the Portishead line specifically or more generally commuting to Bristol, it wouldn't. It might be that a large number of N.Som residents do commute or otherwise travel regularly to Taunton, though. But I don't think their reasons for rejecting the "metro mayor" idea were anything to do with transport.

North Somerset is effectively Weston-Super-Mare, which is a fairly major population centre with a lot of recently built housing, large industrial sheds etc., and it seems to me that the council is very keen to preserve its independence. 

Of course it it also includes Portishead, Pill and the south Bristol commuter belt, who in many ways might get a better deal if they were in Bristol, particularly on transport, but I suspect that it comes down to schools and preferring more suburban-minded local-government.

 

[Chris from Nailsea]

I'm posting this here in a purely personal capacity, not as an administrator of the Coffee Shop forum.

The council area of 'North Somerset', while apparently politically tied into Weston-super-Mare, does also include Congresbury, Yatton, Backwell, Nailsea and Long Ashton - many of whose residents would like to see increased options of travelling by public transport if they were allowed to be part of the 'metro mayor' idea.

[TonyK]

But I don't think their reasons for rejecting the "metro mayor" idea were anything to do with transport.

North Somerset has worked hard on the Portishead line project for a number of years. It owns the trackbed from the junction with Royal Portbury Dock into the town. It tried (unsuccessfully) to launch its own bid for the funding to pay for the reopening from another jam jar at the treasury than is normally used. It paid for the vegetation to be cleared from the line when no-one was asking for it to be done, and has taken the lead in planning the station. That makes their reversion to parish council status a bit odd, but I have two theories.

The first is that they remember with horror the Bristocentric nature of the county formerly known as Avon. That is understandable - it was a dog's breakfast of the worst order. The outlying areas were then much smaller than Bristol, and the big city got the lion's share of things. However, the Metro Mayor won't have control of everything that Avon did. Transport and planning, yes, but not social services or education other than adult skills. Avon might have been dead for over 20 years, though, but the political composition of parts of North Somerset council has changed little. In the current climate, you could probably stick a blue rosette on one of the donkeys in Weston, and it would win. I am not sure that the local populace are really up for regime change, nor that Portishead railway matters much to anyone outside of Portishead and Pill.

The second is my conspiracy theory. Here, North Somerset council, having promoted MetroBust and, with South Gloucestershire and some pre-mayoral Bristol councillors having shafted the previous mayor by signing contracts six months before he was elected, now realises that the whole thing is a toxic shambles. The day will come when even the spin doctors at MetroBust HQ^▸ (Headquarters) lose the rictus grin and the Comical Ali view of truth, and everyone will start trying to blame everyone else. Except North Somerset parish council, who will stand at the back, whistling softly.

Does it matter for the Portishead railway? I don't think so. MetroWest has a life of its own, and is of vital importance to Bristol and South Gloucestershire. North Somerset may not care if its taxpayers leave for work in Bristol by car, but Bristol certainly doesn't want them arriving by private transport. The rail minister is said to see the national significance of the line and to be in favour of it, but someone will need to show him that £15 million per mile is good value. That could be tough.

Someone had better invent some new Benefit / Cost Ratio figures PDQ.  It's easy enough. You start with the answer you want, then work backwards to make the data fit. It worked for MetroBust.

I wrote to MEPs^▸ (Member of European Parliament) the other day (nothing to do with railways, transport or regional government) and as a result discovered that "the South West of England" includes... Gibraltar! I look forward to a different sort of Avon-Rock Railway!

I recall the reasoning for this from way back in 1999 when the European Court of Human Rights held that Gibraltar was entitled to vote in European elections. Gibraltar is too small for a MEP of its own, so it was lumped on with the South West constituency to comply with the judgement.

That, and it annoys the Spanish intensely.

[Bmblbzzz]

In terms of the Portishead line specifically or more generally commuting to Bristol, it wouldn't. It might be that a large number of N.Som residents do commute or otherwise travel regularly to Taunton, though. But I don't think their reasons for rejecting the "metro mayor" idea were anything to do with transport.

North Somerset is effectively Weston-Super-Mare, which is a fairly major population centre with a lot of recently built housing, large industrial sheds etc., and it seems to me that the council is very keen to preserve its independence. 

Of course it it also includes Portishead, Pill and the south Bristol commuter belt, who in many ways might get a better deal if they were in Bristol, particularly on transport, but I suspect that it comes down to schools and preferring more suburban-minded local-government.

On schools, I know someone who lives in south Bristol – in fact a stone's throw from Bedminster station – and chose to send her daughter to a secondary school somewhere along the Pill-Portishead corridor (I can't remember exactly where) despite it meaning an hour or so bus journey, because she'd heard dreadful things about the local schools. Now, two years in, it turns out she might have made a bad choice, and not (only) because of the long journey.

[TonyK]

On schools, I know someone who lives in south Bristol – in fact a stone's throw from Bedminster station – and chose to send her daughter to a secondary school somewhere along the Pill-Portishead corridor (I can't remember exactly where) despite it meaning an hour or so bus journey, because she'd heard dreadful things about the local schools. Now, two years in, it turns out she might have made a bad choice, and not (only) because of the long journey.

Could be in Ham Green, in which case it has recently become an academy. If it was that one, it was rated "Good" in its pre-conversion report by OFSTED. The secondary school 5 minutes walk from her front door has been assessed as "Outstanding"

[trainer]

Could be in Ham Green, in which case it has recently become an academy.

St Katherine's School in Ham Green does indeed have a bus connection into Bristol specifically for pupils (Carmel X5) and has always attracted custom from 'over the border'.

...they [North Somerset Council] remember with horror the Bristocentric nature of the county formerly known as Avon. That is understandable - it was a dog's breakfast of the worst order.

It is still common to hear blame for the ills of North Somerset blamed on the legacy of Avon and around here (I am a resident of Clevedon) it is still hung over us as a warning whenever closer integration with the wider region is touted as a challenge to the current politburo in Weston-super-Mare.  However, as an employee of the former Avon, I found the Education Dept to be very inclusive and supportive and generally good to work for.  It had sufficient size to include alternatives if one found a particularly awkward member of the County Staff and a breadth of understanding because it did include city and rural experience.  It was not in any way perfect, but certainly not as bad as the more emotionally charged accusers made out.

On transport matters we have the daft situation of buses subsidised to operate entirely within the tiny geographical area which is North Somerset, when many (most?) need to travel into the City That Dare Not Speak Its Name rather than connecting villages to the regional hub.  The Portishead line would be a welcome exception to this rule and to be fair, as FT,N has pointed out, NSC was pro-active in showing willing to get the thing going again. Nevertheless, for the most part our tiny republic suffers from a myopia that cannot see eastwards beyond Long Ashton or Blagdon.

Incidentally, the Conservatives have in the past faced opposition which forced them from power (Lib Dems), but it is true that this area is conservative and Conservative on the whole.

[John R]

On schools, I know someone who lives in south Bristol – in fact a stone's throw from Bedminster station – and chose to send her daughter to a secondary school somewhere along the Pill-Portishead corridor (I can't remember exactly where) despite it meaning an hour or so bus journey, because she'd heard dreadful things about the local schools. Now, two years in, it turns out she might have made a bad choice, and not (only) because of the long journey.

Could be in Ham Green, in which case it has recently become an academy. If it was that one, it was rated "Good" in its pre-conversion report by OFSTED. The secondary school 5 minutes walk from her front door has been assessed as "Outstanding"

Quite a few students from south Bristol study at Backwell, also an "Outstanding" School for some years now and being 10 mins walk from the station almost certainly a shorter journey than Ham Green. Though clearly not as close as the one on their doorstep.

[chuffed]

The A&E department in North Somerset of Ashton & Elfan could well be an Accident and Emergency in itself. Perhaps the decision to go it alone, without joining in with  the Metro Mayor could be seen as an all too avoidable accident, whilst the trebling of the cost of the Portishead railway needs some swift emergency action if the whole scheme is not to hit the buffers. And I mean buffers in both senses of the word.

[TonyK]

I named no names. My "children" (oldest nearly 37) attended the nearest to our friend's friend's nearest option. They haven't turned out too bad, whearas I first shared a football pitch with Paul Scholes, although in different years and with much less success, then moved home to share a grammar school with the legendary "Gorgeous" George Carmen QC et al.

I still ended up a piece of work with little to make a living from except from the ability to blag it in both English and sort-of French. I haven't done too badly, so ponder the matter of education over life experience.

[TonyK]

I should add that other schools are available, and may make you a multi-millionaire if you do IT studies in hacking etc.

[johnneyw]

Earlier mentions on this thread referring to cascaded Turbos reaching the Severn Beach line gave a possible May 2017 date (or so I seem to recall). That was admittedly, an early estimate. Has there been any new date issued? Are they possibly going to be introduced with the start of the smart ticketing facilities on the line?

[grahame]

Earlier mentions on this thread referring to cascaded Turbos reaching the Severn Beach line gave a possible May 2017 date (or so I seem to recall). That was admittedly, an early estimate. Has there been any new date issued? Are they possibly going to be introduced with the start of the smart ticketing facilities on the line?

My latest understanding is that really hasn't changed very much ... should be down to counting in weeks not years now. However, stock released from the line (and other turbos release in the Thames Valley) may have to fill other gaps left by stock leaving GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) rather than for augmenting [any] services.    Really frustrating when the only TransWilts train between 15:12 and 18:48 is getting beyond "full and standing" and into "can't fit on" territory!