Great Western Coffee Shop

A new rail depot near Bristol could be built as part of plans to electrify the Great Western line between Bristol and London.

Hundreds of residents have signed a petition opposing a rail depot which is being planned for Stoke Gifford near Bristol.

Petition against rail maintenance depot now signed by 550 people

More than 550 people have signed a petition against plans for a rail maintenance depot at Stoke Gifford.

The project, which could create up to 170 permanent jobs, forms part of the plan to electrify the railway between Bristol and London.

Hitachi Rail Europe, the company overseeing the ^1 billion project, wants to build the depot on what is known as the Filton Triangle ^ a triangular piece of land formed by railway lines close to Bristol Parkway.

If it gets permission, the 44-acre site will be used for a main maintenance workshop, offices and stores, a train wash building, fuel storage, sidings, a wheel lathe building and accommodation for drivers and cleaners.

But there are concerns among local residents that it will be too close to houses and generate noise, dust, light and chemical pollution. They fear they will be disturbed by round-the- clock working and the value of their homes will fall.

More than 50 individual letters from residents have also been sent to South Gloucestershire Council, raising similar concerns and claiming consultation over the scheme was inadequate.

They said the area was already subject to high levels of noise from trains and flight paths of aircraft and claimed the depot would make matters worse.

They also said there were worries about flooding and extra traffic problems on already busy roads.

Although Filton Town Council has raised no objection ^ asking only for nearby householders to be consulted ^ Stoke Gifford Parish Council is opposed to the scheme.

It said it had concerns over noise levels, especially at night, and how the development would affect residents and the environment.

The site, reached off the A38 via North Way, is owned by Network Rail and leased to a third party for reclamation of inert building waste but is not allocated for any specific use in local development plans.

A group of South Gloucestershire councillors are due to visit the site on Friday, before a decision is taken on the application at a future planning meeting.

Under the proposal, rail access to the depot would be provided by new mainline connections to the Avonmouth and Filton line.

Hitachi Rail Europe wants the depot to be working during 2015 if permission is given and has pledged not to be a noisy neighbour.

Councillors view Stoke Gifford train depot site

Councillors have inspected the site of a planned train service depot on the Great Western main line.

Agility Trains wants to build the depot on land at Stoke Gifford, close to Bristol Parkway railway station.

South Gloucestershire Council said the depot could create up to 200 jobs.

Campaigners opposed to the plans said there had not been enough consultation and called on developers to pick a "more appropriate" site.

Several rail lines cross at the site of the planned depot, which is on the route between Bristol and Cardiff.

Agility Trains said it hoped it would take between 18 and 24 months to build the facility on land called the Stoke Gifford triangle.

The council's transport boss Brian Allinson said the depot was sited at an accessible location for the railway.

"When you look at it and realise the mainlines all converge at that point, it is quite a sensible place to put it," he said.

But Stokes Campaign against the Rail Electrification Depot (Scared) said not enough consultation had gone into the planning process.

Campaigner Leslie Cox said the group had "massive concerns" about the visual impact of the depot.

The main building would accommodate two full-length trains at once and would also include offices and storage space.

Several smaller buildings - for driver accommodation and train washes - are also part of the plan.

Ms Cox said: "We're concerned about noise pollution with klaxons going off, light and dust pollution and chemicals being washed into the stream.

"I would ask them to be sensible and pick a more appropriate site because we know there are more appropriate sites."

Agility Trains, a consortium of Hitachi and John Laing, said their studies showed the depot would not affect residents and that none of the statutory bodies had objected to the proposal.

Aside from Chris's suggestion of Flax Bourton, does anybody know where these "more appropriate" sites of which the scared people speak are?

How about the site of the ex Rolls Royce building, it's adjacent to the 'triangle' and railway the line? (and to Gypsy Patch Lane and the A38 for those who don't know the area)

Petition against rail maintenance depot now signed by 550 people
But there are concerns among local residents that it will be too close to houses and generate noise, dust, light and chemical pollution. They fear they will be disturbed by round-the- clock working and the value of their homes will fall.

They said the area was already subject to high levels of noise from trains and flight paths of aircraft and claimed the depot would make matters worse.

Picking up on another theme - this will be one of the issues that need to be resolved before the IEP contract can be signed (by May).

Delays to securing planning permission and the need to conclude commercial discussions with the Agility Trains consortium and their banks has resulted in a delay to commercial close of May 2012.

Railway activists back depot despite concerns

Rail campaigners and the Green Party have given their support to a controversial rail depot proposed to be built at Stoke Gifford.

They said the "vital" scheme would benefit the local economy by creating jobs and was crucial for the future of rail around Greater Bristol.
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Hitachi Rail Europe wants to build the depot on the so-called Filton Triangle ^ a triangular piece of land formed by railway lines close to Bristol Parkway ^ with South Gloucestershire planners set to determine the application on Thursday.

The 44-acre site would be used for a main maintenance workshop, offices and stores, a train wash building, fuel storage, sidings, a wheel lathe building and accommodation for drivers and cleaners.

But more than 550 local people have signed a petition against the proposal. They fear they will be disturbed by round-the-clock working and are concerned about noise, dust, light and chemical pollution.

But Rob Dixon and Julie Boston of the Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways (FoSBR) have joined Daniel Casey of the Greens and Dave Wood of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) to issue a statement urging backing for the depot.

They said: "It is understandable that local residents are concerned about the impact the depot will have on their lives. These issues must be dealt with by local politicians, who need to negotiate with the company to ensure that they are resolved.

"However, we believe that residents' concerns are mostly unfounded."

They said maintenance would be carried out indoors in soundproofed buildings and train movements outside the depot would be electrically-powered, removing the noise of engines.

They also said an existing earth mound between the site, the South Wales main line and adjacent houses provided a "natural sound barrier" and could be planted with trees.

The statement said: "One would imagine that the current background noise levels from nearby roads ^ Hatchet Road, the ring road, the M4 and M5 ^ and the planes that use Filton airfield night and day will be considerably higher than any noise from the proposed depot.

"Residents will also be used to overnight rail freight passing by their homes on the South Wales main line, which have done so for over a century.

"Environmentally, because the maintenance will be computer-based, there will be no concern of oil-based pollutants contaminating water courses. External lighting will also be kept to a minimum, particularly because of the procedures for safe driving of trains at night.

"We understand the Hitachi depot in Ashford has had no complaints about noise or light pollution, either before or after construction. The depot is surrounded by houses and residents see it as a positive development which has provided engineering work placements and apprenticeships. At a time of high youth unemployment this is positive.

"Bristol desperately needs new rail services. Without this, there can be only limited improvements to local services. Since new track is an expensive investment, it is only likely if there are sufficient rail movements to make it worthwhile."

The project forms part of the ^1-billion plan to electrify the railway between Bristol and London.

A proposed train depot on the Great Western main line near Bristol has been given planning approval by councillors.

Agility Trains wants to build the depot on land at Stoke Gifford, close to Bristol Parkway railway station.

More than 700 residents signed a petition against the plans and 60 written objections were lodged with South Gloucestershire Council.

Despite that, the authority's Development Control Committee voted in favour of the scheme.

Agility Trains said it hoped it would take between 18 and 24 months to build the depot on land, called the Stoke Gifford triangle.

Several railway lines cross at the site of the depot, which is on the route between Bristol and Cardiff.

The main building would accommodate two full-length trains at once and would also include offices and storage space.

Agility Trains said its studies showed the depot would not affect residents and that none of the statutory bodies had objected to the proposal.


Protesters said the depot would be too close to houses in Stoke Gifford
Andy Barr, from Hitachi Rail Europe, said: "I can understand the concerns but once the trains are parked you aren't going to know they are there.

"During the main part of the night there will be no work going on in the yard itself. It's more like a car park."

Mr Barr said repair work would be carried out in a sound-proofed maintenance shed.

Agility Trains won a contract to supply the Intercity Express Programme for the Department for Transport and is a partnership between construction company John Laing Projects and Hitachi Limited.