Report by ASTRA MORTON, astra.morton@archant.co.uk North Somerset Times 1 June 2005
The right to get Portishead's
railway reopened could have reached the end of the line _ after Government
chiefs earmarked the area as possible land for housing.
The former Portishead branch
line is one of 700 sites which the Government is
investigating building affordable homes on. If the housing plan gets the green
light, 5.3 hectares of land, which runs from Portishead to Portbury, could be used to build homes for first time buyers. But the news has angered campaigners who have been fighting
to get the line which is owned by the British Railways Board ‑ reopened.
Councillor David Pasley has
been leading a special drive to clear the line of plants and shrubs in a bid to
raise the profile of the railway. Cllr Pasley said:
"Hearing this news has made me feel like blowing a gasket. Even
considering using this land as a site for housing shows a total lack of
understanding of the problems we have in Portishead. We need the railway, not
more homes. I invite John Prescott down here, if he has the courage, to face
the residents who have to live in what has become
Last year the Portishead
Heritage Rail Project was set up to raise awareness for the need
for a rail link to
Portishead currently has a
population of nearly 20,000. But this is expected to
rise to more than 40,000 as a result‑of the massive regeneration of the
docks.
Acting chairman
of the Portishead Heritage Rail Project Bishop Roger Sainsbury said:
"Although I support building houses on brownfield
sites in Portishead, unless we have an adequate transport system extra homes
will only cause trouble."
Representatives from the
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are unable to say when a decision will be made, how many sites will be chosen, or if more
buyouts are likely in the future. The Government has already snapped up a
number of redundant NHS sites for affordable homes. The Portishead to