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HOWARD'S WAY.... a weekly column from Michael Howard MP

30 November 2006

 

Last Friday morning I had one of my regular meetings with the Leader and Chief Executive of Shepway District Council. These meetings are a useful opportunity for them to bring me up to date with the development of the Council’s plans and for me to draw to their attention various concerns and anxieties which people have brought to me.

I remain convinced that the district is experiencing an exciting period of regeneration. Much of it has yet to be brought to fruition so, naturally, the results are not yet apparent. But the coming of the high speed rail link to London, the redevelopment of the sea front – about which I hope there will be more news by the time you read this – all add up to a real transformation.

But problems remain.

On Friday morning I chaired a meeting in Lydd. This was the culmination of a long correspondence I had been engaged in with Stagecoach about journey times on their hourly service from Lydd to Rye.

Although the timetabled service allows enough time to make the connection with the train that leaves Rye at 54 minutes past the hour, in practice the bus is often late so passengers miss the trains. This causes great difficulty for those who rely on the train to get them to work or want to use it for any other purpose.

Eventually I was able to persuade Mr Southgate, the Area Manager of Stagecoach, to come to Lydd to meet some of the passengers concerned. Mr Southgate has a difficult job. The service from Lydd to Rye is just one section of a much longer route which starts in Dover and ends in Hastings. Any change to the timetable has knock-on consequences throughout the route.

But Mr Southgate agreed at the meeting to start the whole service 5 minutes earlier which should make all the difference to passengers from Lydd who want to catch the train at Rye. I certainly hope so!