Land at the Wisbech Waterfront where shops and flats should have been built
Lib Dems say they will re-open Wisbech to March rail line and create hourly service to Cambridge
By John Elworthy
Saturday, February 18, 2012
9:15 AM
LIB Dems on Cambridgeshire County Council today pledged to re-open the Wisbech to March rail line and create an hourly service to Cambridge.
The party’s proposals will be aired on Tuesday at Shire Hall when they present their ‘alternative’ budget to the county council.
“The people of Wisbech have been ignored for too long by the Tories running the county council,” said Lib Dem Leader, Councillor Kilian Bourke.
“Transport links to the town are poor, people are struggling to find work and bored teenagers are causing trouble. It is time more action was taken to solve these problems and our alternative budget aims to do just that.”
“We would open the Wisbech line, ensure that the town had the fastest broadband outside Cambridge, and invest in extra teachers in classrooms and PCSO’s on the streets, to improve education and community safety. These targeted extra investments, taken together, would make a real difference.”
He said Lib Dems propose to improve education in the town by attracting and keeping more good young teachers by bringing back an hourly train service to Cambridge and connections to Peterborough and London by reopening the railway line for passengers and freight.
He also promised “an extra £250 per year for every pupil who receives free school meals in two of the Wisbech area’s poorest primary schools allowing these schools to employ more teachers, cut class sizes and buy more books.”
The Lib Dems would also invest in the youth service “to reduce the number of bored teenagers resorting to anti-social behaviour or crime and being a bad influence on their classmates in and out of school.”
On jobs the Lib Dems said they would provide young people just out of school with the means to get to job interviews “and a new job when they get one. This would break the cycle where you are repeatedly excluded from getting work by the cost and difficulty of getting to interviews or a new job.”
Councillo Kevin Wilkins, Shadow Cabinet Member for Planning, Enterprise and Environment, said : “There is much that can be done to improve the life of people living in Wisbech, but for too long they have been treated as the poor relations to others elsewhere in Cambridgeshire.
“The Lib Dems would both deal with the problems faced by Wisbech and make sure residents and employers are better able to create jobs and get jobs than they can now.”
“And Wisbech’s schools would get more money from the Lib Dems and would find it easier to keep good teachers.”
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6 comments
Cities and large town's swallow the majority of county councils money, their excuse is they need it more. The truth that small towns like Wisbech are left to rot, its who you know on the council's and where the mp's live or work!
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Jay Turner
Monday, February 20, 2012
Its all words and no action, the town and its silly MP can't even get the Cromwell Road development off the ground, we hear them keep talking about, but no action (it will never be completed on time). The rail link won't necessarily change the issues, lets not forget there is already a 30 minute bus service to Kings Lynn or Peterborough. Cambridgeshire County Council will never sought anything out, they wasted a million pounds on a play park that no one wanted, that is riddled with feral youth anti social behaviour. Get the New Cinema and shopping area started first, and build some houses on the waste land near the boathouse. If the County Council and District Council can't even get these projects going, then what hope is there for a railway link. What is really annoying is they go one about Cambridge this, Cambridge that. Fenland has no interest in Cambridge, they are as different as chalk and cheese. They are so arrogant at county level. The local youths don't use the bus service as they can't afford it, so why pay even higher train costs. Bus in some posh teachers from Cambridge and the problems will go away...................dream on
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daveb123
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Perhaps only 3 responses highlights the level of apathy. The 'Capital of the Fens' without even a railway station? A number of areas of extreme deprivation; poor educational achievements and the impact of crime of immigration all mark Wisbech out as requiring urgent local and national Government attention but its social isolation and lack of a University 'outpost' will always mean that it remains Cambridge's poor(est) relation.
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AndrewM1
Sunday, February 19, 2012
I often hear people complaining about jobs, immigrants, roads, facilities and various other 'problems' with Wisbech, but time after time these same people vote for the same political leaders. If you voted them in, please stop moaning as we all know that come the next election, you will do the same again. It may not be ideal but Wisbech is still a lot better than many towns in the UK.
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Key2driving
Saturday, February 18, 2012
We have to keep the pressure up on both the County Council, Network Rail and Government to ensure that the necessary investment that is required to get the rail link back in place to March comes sooner rather than later - notleast during these appallingly difficult times for all those trying to find work. North East of the County is frequently ignored - building new office blocks does nothing for the economy but re-connecting the area to the Rail Network could be just the shot in the arm they need.
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Goldmaker
Saturday, February 18, 2012
I wholly applaud the proposals from the Lib Dems but clearly this will have no impact on what the Tories are GOING to do. Unfortunately it is a long long time until the next elections, and the Labour Party will be fighting harder than ever to win these arguments, but at least the debate has started on the future of our town.
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DReeves
Saturday, February 18, 2012