MAYOR INTERVIEW: New Peterborough rail station and subsidised bus services on Lib Dem agenda

Aidan Van de Weyer wants to progress long-standing plans for a station in Hampton where there is considerable housing growth, vowing to put it on the agenda of the Government and Network Rail.

The latter has previously said there are no plans to build a station in Hampton but that it would consider if one was needed should the mayor provide funding.

In an interview with the Peterborough Telegraph, Mr Van de Weyer, who is seeking to become the second Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in May, said: “Peterborough is well served with its road network, the parkway system. It generally functions well. But what it really lacks is a really sustainable way of getting around the city as an alternative to the car.

“One particular example is the opportunity to have a railway station serving the people of Hampton, enabling people on the south side to get into the city very easily.

“I think at this stage of the development of the Hampton area there’s still the opportunity to integrate a station. That’s obviously a long term plan.

“As we take seriously our ambitions to reduce carbon we need to be investing in public transport, and rail is one of the best investments we can make.

“I would have the opportunity to really press the case on this. It’s been around, but that area of Peterborough is changing - the demand is not what it was down there - and the imperative is there to enable people to use green forms of transport and not their car.”

The elected mayor is leader of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority which has sweeping powers over transport, housing, infrastructure projects and adult education.

This includes the power for bus franchising which is currently being reviewed by the authority.

In Peterborough, city council subsidies for loss-making bus routes have been cut in recent years to help balance the books.

However, running certain routes which are not commercially viable is seen as acceptable by Mr Van de Weyer who believes the benefits outweigh the costs.

He said: “There are several ways in which the bus network can be significantly improved, in particular the lengths of services and services to rural areas, as well as getting it integrated.

“I’d possibly push for franchising, but some form of being able to work with the service providers so they are meeting the need.

“You can’t get a good quality public transport system that is purely profit making, that isn’t overseen by a public authority. What’s happened across the country, and in central Peterborough in particular, the bus companies only run services they can make money on and neglect other services which would cost.

“A really good quality public transport system is a network where you can reliably get to all parts of it.”

Asked if it was right for taxpayers to fund loss-making services, Mr Van de Weyer replied: “Yes. Some services do provide a really crucial social benefit enabling people who don’t have cars to have access to public transport.

“It reduces isolation, it enables people to live in their homes for longer. There are a wide range of benefits of having an element of a subsidised service. But there does have to be a clear need for them.”