28 November 2006
Future of St James Playing Fields in Paisley secured
Renfrewshire Council and SPT reach agreement as MSPs prepare for final vote on Glasgow Airport Rail Link
Renfrewshire Council and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) - the organisation promoting Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) - have reached an agreement over St James playing fields in Paisley. It is hoped that this will be ratified by Renfrewshire councillors at a meeting on 14 December.
Officials from SPT and Renfrewshire Council - which owns the playing fields - met yesterday following a series of meetings between the two bodies. The agreement comes the day before the final stage Parliamentary debate on the GARL Private Bill where MSPs decide whether the scheme gets the green light. The debate is set to take place at the Scottish Parliament from 2.30pm on Wednesday 29 November.
Suggestions made by local league representatives - who use the biggest concentration of football pitches in west Scotland - have been incorporated into the plans for St James playing fields. The news has been welcomed by playing field groups, which Renfrewshire Council and SPT have consulted with widely since the GARL consultation first began in November 2004.
John Lyle is general secretary of Paisley and District Amateur League, a local football league. He said: "It's like Christmas has come early! I've been a member of this league for 50 years and can remember playing in the 1950s with nothing but a cold water trough outside the clubhouse. The Glasgow Airport Rail Link is the best thing that's ever happened to St James playing fields and we're delighted with the new changing rooms, drainage system and alternative pitches being put into place by SPT."
John Halliday, SPT's Assistant Chief Executive, said: "I am confident that having put in the hard work we now have an agreement that will meet the expectations of those who use the playing fields and that we can recommend to both Renfrewshire Council and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.
"We have worked very closely with Renfrewshire Council and all those groups with an interest in St James playing fields over the past few years and would like to thank all parties concerned for their input, which has directly contributed to our plans for the playing fields."
Bob Darracott, Director of Planning and Transport at Renfrewshire Council, said: "We have negotiated long and hard with SPT to secure a future for the playing fields and improve facilities for those who use them. A report is being prepared for the full council meeting in December and I would hope that the agreement will be ratified at this meeting on 14 December."
Transport Scotland project manager John Gordon said: "We appreciate
the importance that the local community and sporting organisations place
on this key amenity, and are therefore pleased that an agreement has been
reached that will ensure its future is secured."
If GARL is approved by MSPs, 22 football pitches will be 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.
Over the coming weeks SPT will assess which contractor it wants to complete a contract to create 11 temporary football pitches at seven different locations in the Paisley area. If GARL gets the green light, work on this contract - which would include the provision of parking, changing facilities, drainage, goals and fencing - would begin 2007 and last until 2008. The temporary pitches are critical to allow construction of the viaduct to commence.
The Glasgow Airport Rail Link proposal is to upgrade 9km (5.4 miles) of existing track between Shields Junction and Paisley Gilmour Street station and to lay 1.9km (1.2miles) of new track between Paisley St James station and Glasgow Airport. The new track will cross St James Park and the M8. A new platform will also be built in Central Station and a new track laid at the Elderslie sidings.
The Minister for Transport announced in a statement earlier this year to the Scottish Parliament that he expected delivery of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link by the end of 2010. The Transport Minister's recent statement places the out-turn cost - cost at point of completion - at between £170m and £210m. This is consistent with SPT's projections.
The new rail link would provide a dedicated train service every 15 minutes between Glasgow Central Station and a new station at Glasgow Airport. Trains will stop once at Paisley Gilmour Street and the journey time will be 16 minutes.
The Department for Transport estimates that passenger numbers at Glasgow Airport are predicted to almost double, from 8.2million a year in 2003, to over 15 million passengers a year in 2030. Airport owner, BAA Scotland's latest forecasts are even higher and indicate that passenger numbers could rise as high as 24 million by 2030. At present, 95% of these passengers travelling 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 one of the biggest wealth generators in the region. It will increase the rail opportunities for travellers using Paisley Gilmour Street 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. The link would also support the Glasgow City region's conference sector business, worth an estimated £115m annually. In addition, the link will help support 1300 jobs across Glasgow and Renfrewshire including 650-700 gross new jobs in Paisley town centre.
The Glasgow Airport Rail Link is being promoted by SPT and supported by Transport Scotland.
Since 2004 SPT has consulted widely on its Glasgow Airport Rail Link proposals. SPT's formal public consultation into the Glasgow Airport Rail Link ran from 1 November 2004 to 28 February 2005 - there were a total of 1638 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 formal consultation saw 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 created. In late January 2006, SPT sent out more than 12,000 leaflets to people living along the line of the proposed route. The consultation continues.
ends