Every fortnight Kevin writes a "Kev's Column" for the Herald Express and you can the latest edition (Published on Wednesday 11th October 2023) below:
HS2
HS2 was the biggest talking point at the Conservative Party Conference, with the Prime Minister announcing his decision to cancel the planned new line north of Birmingham.
The HS2 project currently accounts for over one-third of all the Government’s transport investment. The projected £36 billion cost of this work will instead be invested in hundreds of transport projects across the country, with every region set to receive the same or more investment on an unprecedented scale because of the change in spending. Schemes in our region set to benefit include confirmed funding to complete vital resilience work on the coastal railway at Teignmouth to secure our rail links and reconnecting Tavistock to the rail network (via Bere Alston) for the first time since the 1960s’.
The potential of high-speed rail in terms of regeneration and economic development is significant, but HS2’s escalating costs mean the Prime Minister has taken the right decision to cancel the next phases of this project. The decision to end HS2 should not bar any consideration of all future plans for new high-speed lines, but lessons must be learnt from how HS2 is now costing 10 times (per mile) what it costs to build a new TGV line in France.
£2 Bus Fare Cap
There was good news for bus passengers with the announcement, as part of the change of spending due to scrapping HS2, the £2 Bus Fare Cap is being extended to the end of December 2024.
Whilst buses may not have the attraction of shiny new high-speed train lines, they are the most used form of public transport. The fare cap had been due to rise to £2.50 at the end of this month, so the extension is welcome news and will help ease the cost of living for many who rely on the bus to get around.
Empty Homes
More than 14,000 homes across Devon stood empty in 2022, despite the pressure on housing.
New figures show 14,580 properties across Devon were not being used last year, amounting to 2.5 per cent of the county's total housing stock. This was broken down into local areas of the county, revealing the largest proportion of these were here in Torbay, where 2,598 homes, 3.7 per cent of our area's stock were empty.
At a time when many families are waiting for a home on our local housing need list, these figures are a reminder of why we must get many delay ed regeneration schemes underway. It is also surprising Torbay Council has not made more use of its ability to force long-term empty properties to be made available, although I know the new Conservative administration is looking to change this.
Surgery Times
My next surgeries are on: Thursday 12th October 3pm till 5pm at 5-7 East St, Torquay, TQ2 5SD and Friday 20th October 10am till 12noon at Paignton Library, Great Western Road, Paignton TQ4 5AG.
For an appointment you can either email me at [email protected] or leave a message on 01803 214989, surgeries are for personal queries from residents they would like me to help them with. There are also drop-in sessions from 10am till 1pm, Monday to Friday at 5-7 East St, Torquay, TQ2 5SD where a member of my team is available to assist residents with urgent queries.
