A new study on the economic benefits of the rail network to Lincolnshire has described the service in Spalding as “surprisingly poor”.
Commissioned by the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, the study surveyed the whole county and concluded that there were “substantial benefits to the economy from improvements in services”.
It said imminent negotiations over the renewal of the East Midlands Trains franchise – which is due to start in March 2018 – provided an ideal opportunity to lobby for improvements.
“The service that Spalding receives is surprisingly poor,” the study said.
“The town has a population of over 30,000 but…receives only an hourly service to Peterborough and Lincoln with very poor evening services and no Sunday service and large gaps in the Saturday service.
“There is a case for improvements to services to Peterborough to allow the town to take full advantage of the high quality links available to London and East Anglia.
“The situation at Spalding contrasts with Stamford…which receives an hourly service to Peterborough, Cambridge, Stansted, Leicester and Birmingham, and usage that is approaching double that at Spalding, despite having a population of only 20,000.”
Among the priorities for investment which the study identified as delivering the most economic benefits and realistic objectives were:
- a scheme which encourages more commuting by rail to Peterborough, such as a new station at Littleworth (if viable)
- hourly service between Sleaford and Peterborough, retaining through links to Lincoln where possible, operating Monday to Saturday, and providing an early morning and late evening services
- development of a two hourly Sunday service ideally building to a hourly service
Bringing the station at Littleworth (Deeping St Nicholas) back into use has long been championed by Spalding and Peterborough Transport Forum.
But Lincolnshire County Council’s executive director for environment and economy Richard Wills told last autumn’s inaugural Lincolnshire Transport Conference, held in Spalding, that the council’s view was that the forum’s case for it was “weak”.
The study said: “There is a long standing aspiration for the development of a station at Littleworth between Spalding and Peterborough. Such a station could act as a Park and Ride to Peterborough for settlements south of Spalding.
“More work is required to examine the viability of such a station. If there was suitable demand, then such a station might contribute revenue to the route as a whole helping to improve the financial performance of the route.”
It is claimed that improvements to the county’s rail service to a “good” standard could be worth £34m in extra gross domestic product per year.
And raising them to the equivalent of the best in the UK could be worth between £84m and £167m.
The study said: “Rail can play an important role in strengthening the economy across Greater Lincolnshire, supporting business, tourism and labour markets. However there is a need for further investment to fulfil its potential.”
The county council’s economic scrutiny committee – which includes Coun Liz Sneath (Spalding Elloe) and Coun William Webb (Holbeach Rural) – was asked for its views on Tuesday (May 24) ahead of the study going before the highways and transport scrutiny committee next month.
