15 December 2005

Council backs SPT's plans for St James playing fields.

SPT welcomes Renfrewshire Council's decision to support Rail Link.

SPT - the organisation promoting Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) - has welcomed today's decision by Renfrewshire Council to support the building of a rail link between Glasgow Central and Glasgow Airport.

At a council meeting this morning (Thursday 15 December) Renfrewshire councillors voted in favour of supporting the link, citing "significant benefits...i.e. improved train scheduling, improved access to the airport, creation of direct jobs and the enhanced facilities at St James Park".

SPT chairman Alistair Watson said: "We have been working closely with Renfrewshire Council for the past couple of years to come up with a solution that delivers the appropriate level of mitigation of the impacts of the rail link in Renfrewshire. We believe that the Renfrewshire people, in particular those groups who will use the St James Playing Fields, will be pleased with the proposals that have been hammered out between SPT and Renfrewshire Council.

"We recognize the concerns that Renfrewshire Council have about Paisley Gilmour St Station and would like to see improvements. We intend to look into this and if improvements can be made we will discuss this with Network Rail and the new transport agency for Scotland,

"We still have to dot the i's and cross the t's with the Council but today's decision marks the culmination of a lot of hard work and we are really pleased that Renfrewshire Council has recognised the economic, environmental and transport benefits of a new, fast, direct rail link between Glasgow Central, Paisley and Glasgow Airport."

The decision hinged on SPT's plans for St James Playing Fields, which will see 22 football pitches available during and after construction of the link:

• 20 pitches will be available at St James Playing Fields after the link is constructed. Two pitches and new changing facilities will be provided at Ferguslie Park.
• All pitches will meet league standards.
• New changing facilities will be built at St James Playing Fields, replacing the existing ones.
• During construction, 11 football pitches will be provided at St James Playing Fields. Eleven further temporary pitches will be provided at alternative locations.
• A modern drainage system will be provided for the area immediately east of the proposed viaduct crossing St James Playing Fields.

Alistair Watson said: "St James Playing Fields have for many years been an important facility for people across the west of Scotland and coming up with a solution accepted by all playing field users was an important priority for us in putting together our Bill for the Scottish Parliament.

"We have consulted widely with the community and local football leagues and taken their concerns on board. These proposals would not only mean that no football pitches would be lost to Renfrewshire as a result of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link but would also allow football to continue to flourish in this area of Scotland. We are delighted that the owner of St James Playing Fields - Renfrewshire Council - has supported our plans."

Based on 2004 prices, SPT estimates that the cost of building a rail link between Glasgow Central and Glasgow Airport will be £160m.

Following the introduction of the Private Bill for the rail link to the Scottish Parliament - set for January 2006 - objectors will have 60 days to register their concerns. The project is expected to be completed by end 2009.

The proposal is to upgrade 9 km (5.4 miles) of existing track between Shields Junction and Paisley Gilmour Street Station and to lay 1.9 km (1.2 miles) of new track between Paisley St James Station and Glasgow Airport. The new track will cross St James Park and the M8. The upgrade on the Shields Junction to Paisley Gilmour Street section will also enable more services to be developed for the Ayrshire and Inverclyde routes.

SPT's formal public consultation into the Glasgow Airport Rail Link ran from 1 November 2004 to 28 February 2005 - there was a total of 1,638 formal responses. In addition, 284 people attended public meetings and focus groups and 917 people visited the exhibition stands at various locations in Glasgow and Renfrewshire.

The consultation has seen more than 20,000 information leaflets distributed to homes and businesses along the route of the proposed link. A further 15,000 leaflets were distributed on local train services. A series of public exhibitions and meetings have been held and a website has also been established.

The consultation is ongoing. SPT will be talking to businesses, local people and other affected groups throughout the passage of the Bill in Parliament, in the lead up and throughout the construction period and afterwards. Liaison groups and forums will be set up to allow community groups and individuals to speak to SPT and the contractors.

Consultants have been investigating the feasibility of building a direct rail link to Glasgow Airport for some 15 years and a preferred route has been identified, which mainly follows existing rail lines.

The Department for Transport estimates that passenger numbers at Glasgow Airport are predicted to almost double, from 8.2 million passengers a year in 2003, to over 15 million passengers a year in 2030. The airport owners' - BAA Scotland - latest forecasts are even higher and indicate that passenger numbers could rise as high as 24 million by 2030. At the moment, 95% of these passengers traveling to Glasgow Airport do so by road.

The rail link will provide more travel choice for airport users and establish a sustainable transport link to Glasgow Airport, which is a major employer and is one of the biggest wealth generators in the west of Scotland. It will increase the rail opportunities for travelers using Paisley Gilmour St Station The link will also benefit the tourist industry. According to Roger Tym & Partners, Glasgow Airport Rail Link could help bring 52,500 additional UK and overseas visitors and contribute towards £10m in additional visitor expenditure every year to Glasgow, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. In addition, the link would support the Glasgow City region's estimated £115m conference sector.

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