Memorandum by the District of Bolsover
Council (CC 04)
With respect to the ODPM Sub Committee Follow-up
into Coalfield Communities, I am writing further to the evidence
submitted by this Council to the original ODPM inquiry into coalfield
communities of November/December 2003.
That original submission set out a number of
coalfield regeneration issues of concern to the Authority. I would
briefly up-date as appropriate.
1. REGENERATION
TRANSPORT ROAD
AND RAIL
SCHEMES
The original submission emphasised that, arising
out of one of the key recommendations of the Coalfields Task Force
report, that there was a need to prioritise transport schemes
that would aid regeneration and employment in coalfields, the
Coalfield Communities Campaign (CCC) is continuing to run a campaign
to press for much needed changes in government policy to give
proper recognition and support to transport projects that help
coalfield regeneration. Earlier the CCC had identified an exemplar
package of 16 schemes (nine road and seven rail schemes) which
member authorities wished to see progressed, as part of the case
to the Department of Transport. (Within that list two were very
relevant to the District of Bolsover as described in the original
submission).
To enable these, and other coalfield regeneration
transport schemes to be progressed, government was asked through
the submission to address the following principal issues:
— give regeneration road and rail
schemes a higher priority in the five criteria used by the Department
of Transport to assess funding.
— relieve the prohibitively heavy
costs that fall on local authorities in re-opening former passenger
rail lines, especially the revenue deficit.
These issues were given due consideration in
the Select Committee's subsequent report into "Coalfield
Communities" of March 2004 and were carried forward into
the recommendations (Transport Nos 19 and 20) arising therefrom.
As far as I am aware there has been little progress
in this direction by the Department of Transport and the regeneration
road and rail schemes issue is again being actively pursued by
the CCC.
Indeed there is a growing concern in some coalfield
communities over the existing and development of local rail services
which are considered essential to improving the connectivity of
such communities and, therefore, their economic and social regeneration,
as well as such agendas as environmental sustainability, sustainable
communities, accessibility planning, rural development (many coalfield
areas are rural in location).
2. REFORM OF
EU REGIONAL AID
The original Select Committee's attention was
brought to the importance of the current review of the EU Regional
Development Funds and state aids regimes, for post-2006, to UK
coalfield area regeneration.
This is still a major priority for coalfield
regeneration and the Sub Committee is asked to ensure that the
attention of appropriate government departments is still drawn
to the need to continue to negotiate, whatever future framework
is finally determined, that the review delivers mechanisms which
are the best possible for restructuring the coalfield communities.
My authority is a member of the Coalfield Communities
Campaign and, accordingly, I'm sure, would fully support the follow-up
evidence, and recommendations made by the CCC to the Follow-up
Committee Inquiry with respect to coalfield problems, progress
with regeneration and their detailed assessment of current policy.
In submitting these further observations, my
authority readily acknowledges the good progress already made
by the government in achieving the major task of coalfield area
regeneration. The progress to date is welcomed; reference the
progress report made by the Deputy Prime Minister to the CCC National
Coalfields Conference at Matlock last November, and the Government's
Response to the Select Committee Report "Coalfield Communities",
progress of which the present Sub Committee is now examining.
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