Great Western Coffee Shop

Possibly, but I thought there were regulations requiring stations to be staffed whenever lifts are in operation, in case anyone gets stuck. Could be wrong, but if there are I don't see FGW being too keen to staff NLS from the start to the end of service 7 days a week.

Are the Nailsea residents not concerned then?

And I beleive the ramp on Plat 2 isn't considered officially as wheelchair access as it's steeper than 1 in 12 in places.

Hmm. It almost looks like that notice was produced officially by FGW given the typographical error...

There is no where to put a ramp!

Yes, much cheaper to send disabled passengers up to Bristol Temple Meads and have them return on the down line to Platform 2.

... would have to go down to yatton or maybe weston or god forbid even taunton to come back up again

Presumably if they did install a disabled ramp, they would also have to allocate a disabled parking space...

There are already two disabled spaces in the car park at Nailsea & Backwell - but they're never used, due to the lack of disabled ramp access from platform 1....

Well, never used by those for which they are intended.....  ;D

900 sign station petition

The 913 signatures were collected by Nailsea resident Rita Booth from people living in the town.

Rita, aged 85 of Godwin Drive, decided to collect signatures after she had trouble accessing trains from Nailsea and Backwell due to her disability.

On August 27, she and three others stood outside Nailsea^s Tesco store to encourage more people to sign her petition.

Last week, the Times reported how Backwell mum, Satoko Black, had also compiled a petition in the hope of getting a ramp installed at the station to allow access for those who may be disabled or have pushchairs with them.

This was sent to First Great Western which then sent an application to the Department of Transport for a ramp to be created. The application will be determined later this year.

At a meeting of Backwell Parish Council on Thursday, members decided to write a letter in support of Satoko^s campaign.

Rita^s petition document will now be passed to Nailsea Town Council and then North Somerset Council for consideration.

Rita said: ^I thought a petition to show the views of people from Nailsea, along with the one collected in Backwell, would help to achieve a lot more.^

Interested to see that they also mention the ramp at Keynsham, first announced some years ago (2008 perhaps...?).

OK, so here goes...

Original FGW press release from 2006 (http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/NewsItem.aspx?id=378), confirming my recollection that is was a DfT Access for All initiative.

Then there is a Bristol Evening Post article from 2009 (http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Row-funding-Keynsham-station-ramp/story-11230647-detail/story.html) suggesting that there was a row over who was going to pay for such improvements, which had apparently been presented as a fait accompli in the original FGW article.

Then yet another article from 2010 (http://www.keynshampeople.co.uk/news/MP-hits-council-disabled-ramp-Keynsham-train-station/story-4540296-detail/story.html) saying that funding was awarded to the tune of GBP 100,000.

And then this most recent announcement which I think said GBP 415,000.

Hardly surprising I've lost track, I suppose!

DfT have announced today the construction of a ramp at the station, cost ^1m.

^1 million for a ramp it does seem a bit excessive to me, but I am sure others may disagree.

... that would cost about ^925,000 by my reckoning ...

Boost for disabled people after funds are found for a ramp at rail station

After years of campaigning for a ramp at Nailsea and Backwell Station, work on the project has finally begun.

A design for the ramp has already been drawn up and once it has been approved by North Somerset Council, work can begin.

There is currently no ramp on the south platform, so disabled passengers have to warn train operators a day before they are due to travel to get assistance onto the train and get off at Bristol on their return journey to catch a taxi.

Members of Backwell Access Group first appealed for a ramp in 2008 and the Government finally pledged ^1million towards the project in December last year.

A First Great Western spokesman said: ^Good progress is being made on detailed designs. This is a joint project with North Somerset Council and Network Rail. They will need to review the design and confirm they are structurally sound and within budget. We are on target for this to happen in early November. Once the designs are agreed we will be able to set a firm timetable for work to start.^

Ramp access to Backwell and Nailsea station delayed

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71224000/jpg/_71224434_71224429.jpg)
A spokesman for First Great Western said disabled access ramps should be built in the next year

Members of a disability group in North Somerset say they have been left frustrated by delays in building ramps to allow them to use a railway station.

Backwell and Nailsea station only has ramp access on one side and the group says even this one is too steep to use. First Great Western (FGW) was given ^1.23m to build two ramps in 2011, but work has not yet started. A spokesman said the project had been delayed because of subsidence and work to extend the car park.

Lack of a ramp on the Backwell side means wheelchair-users have to ring up a day in advance of travel to get a taxi to bring them back to the station from Bristol Temple Meads. And wheelchair-user Andy Hull said he had banged his head on the wall using the existing ramp to the Nailsea platform. He described it as "scary as hell", adding "my god does it accelerate fast down that slope".

Alison Morgan, from Backwell Access Group, said they had been campaigning for the ramps since 2007. She said the woman who started the campaign died in September so would not be able to see the work completed. Ms Morgan, who has been in a wheelchair for 12 years, said the lack of useable ramps had "taken another freedom and independence from my life".

FGW was given money to fix the problem by the Department for Transport (DfT), as part of their Access For All scheme, but it must be used by March 2014.

A spokesman for FGW said the embankments needed shoring up before the ramps could be built, but this could not be done while North Somerset Council was doing work to extend the car park. Any more contractors on site would mean nobody would be able to access the station, he said. "In practical terms it's very difficult for us to complete this work before March. The DfT... is aware of those restrictions and we have gone to them and said it makes much more sense for us, for our customers, to make sure access to the station is maintained and is safe, to defer these works, and they've assented to that."

He said the work "should happen in the next year".

The plans have now been approved, subject to agreement on replacements for the three trees that will have to come down adjacent to the garage. I would have thought given the restrictions on felling during the nesting season that they would come down soon.

Somewhat later than I predicted, the three trees were lopped today - the first sign of any activity on the construction of the new ramps.

Disabled access ramp delayed
Vicky Angear, Reporter
Tuesday, June 17, 2014 2:00 PM

NETWORK Rail has quashed rumours that funding for a disabled ramp at Nailsea and Backwell Station has been pulled.

The Government pledged ^1million towards the project in December 2011, after years of campaigning by Backwell Access Group and concerned villagers. But just as work was due to start last year, Network Rail announced the project would have to be delayed due to urgent maintenance work which was needed to stabilise the embankment.

Villagers are desperate to get the ramp installed, but a date for the project has still not been set.

Network Rail spokesman, Julian Burnell, said: ^The Access for All funding that was available in control period four - which finished at the end of the last financial year - was not spent in that period. It may still be available in the current five year period and 
we and First Great Western are currently in discussion with the Department for Transport as to exactly how and when it is spent.

"The funding hasn^t been pulled, it^s still there. It has to be rescheduled as we go from one control period to another. This is a necessary piece of work and we are asking how we can make it happen as soon as possible. It hasn^t been forgotten.^

First Great Western was granted planning permission to remove a staircase on platform one and the ramp on platform two. New ramps will then be installed on both platforms as well as a new staircase on platform one.

Disabled passengers using the station currently have to warn staff a day before they are due to travel to get assistance onto the train. People in wheelchairs also have to get off at Bristol on their return journeys and catch a taxi the rest of the way as there is currently no ramp on the south side of the platform.

Bid for disabled ramp at Nailsea and Backwell station goes off the rails
by The Bristol Post  |  Posted: June 20, 2014

FUNDING for a new ramp at Nailsea and Backwell railway station has been withdrawn, leaving wheelchair users unable to access the platforms.

Members of disability campaign groups were left disappointed by the announcement.

First Great Western (FGW) was given ^1.23m to build two ramps in 2011, but building work never started.

Plans for the ramps have now been withdrawn after a series of delays and a missed deadline.

FGW was given money to fix the problem by the Department for Transport (DfT), as part of their Access For All scheme, but it had to be used by March 2014.

The money has now been distributed elsewhere.

A spokesperson for First Great Western said in November last year that the embankments needed shoring up before the ramps could be built, but this could not be done while North Somerset Council was carrying out work to extend the car park.

Any more contractors on site would mean nobody would be able to access the station.

David Redgewell, a campaigner for disabled people and a wheelchair user from Bristol, said: "I feel this ramp has been stolen from us by the government. This is not just FGW's fault. The Department for Transport withdrew that money without consulting any public bodies in the area. ^1 million was put aside, and we have lost that now.

"FGW couldn't do the work last year, but no one was asked about it before the money went. As a wheelchair user, I can get a train at Keynsham or Clifton Down, but I can't get off it at Nailsea.

"Disabled people have the same rights as everyone else."

The platforms can be accessed via steps, or an old ramp that is too steep for wheelchairs.

Dan Panes, from FGW, said a fresh bid for money had failed.

He said: "We were pretty sure it would happen. But there were other schemes that got the nod before this one. Other work came up around the station that meant we couldn't do the work. We had no option but to postpone it."

Mr Panes said FGW was looking to secure funding from another source.

Disabled campaigner's anger as First Great Western train firm fails to install access ramps at Nailsea and Backwell station

(http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276268/Article/images/21341153/6289829-large.jpg)

A disability campaigner has set up an e-petition calling for rail bosses to be 'held to account' for failing to install access ramps at a North Somerset railway station.

Alison Morgan, 53, who has a neuro- muscular disorder and uses a wheelchair, says she has been left 'disappointed and frustrated' that First Great Western has failed to install ramps at Nailsea and Backwell railway station ^ despite having the cash allocated for the last three years.

First Great Western (FGW) was awarded ^1.23 million in 2011 under the Department for Transport (DfT) access for All Scheme. The money was ringfenced to install access ramps at both sides of the station for disabled users. However, the grant came with the caveat that the money had to be spent by March 2014, or it would be lost.

As a result of a series of delays, FGW never carried out the work and now the money has been withdrawn and distributed elsewhere. A new bid by FGW for the cash was also refused by Government chiefs.

Currently there is only a ramp on the Nailsea side of the station, but due to the fact it is steep, it is not safe for wheelchair users and does not meet Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) guidelines.

The fact that the grant has now been lost means that new access ramps look extremely unlikely, meaning disabled people are unable to use the station.

Mrs Morgan, who, along with others, campaigned several years ago for the money for the work to be allocated, hopes to collect 100,000 names on the e-petition.

If she hits the signature target, the matter will be considered for debate in the House of Commons raising questions as to why FGW did not act when it had the money available.

Mrs Morgan, pictured, said: "FGW has had the money for the last three years but did not spend it and it has now been lost. Currently there is only one ramp on the Nailsea side of the station but it is very steep, not fit for purpose and impossible to use in a manual wheelchair. This is not just a disability issue, but also an issue for young parents with buggies or pushchairs who have to carry them up the steps and the elderly who may struggle to use the current access.

"Myself and others from groups including Pensioners' Voice campaigned long and hard to get the funding allocated for these ramps and we feel we have been very badly let down by First Great Western."

First Great Western said that work to shore up railway embankments and work to expand the station car park by North Somerset Council meant the work on the ramps could not be done at the same time.

People can sign the e-petition, which already has 186 names on it at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/66712

Couldn't the Post have just shown Mrs Morgan the previous article and saved her the bother!

No.  It's a newspaper's job to report the news, not to make the news  ;)

Disabled ramp is ^top priority^

(http://www.northsomersettimes.co.uk/polopoly_fs/1.3803837.1413189139!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_630/image.jpg)
Villagers told station ramp is 'top priority' for First Great Western.

Long-overdue funding to install a disabled ramp at Nailsea and Backwell Station could be available by December.

Campaigner Alison Morgan has been relentlessly pushing First Great Western (FGW) for answers after it missed the funding deadline in March 2014.

FGW has now confirmed Nailsea and Backwell is its ^highest priority^ and it will be reapplying for funding from the Department for Transport.

A ^1.23million Government grant was allocated for the work in 2011, but due to urgent maintenance work on the station embankment the project start date was delayed and the funding deadline missed.

Alison, who has been campaigning for a ramp for seven years, said: ^The latest I^ve heard is that they are going to ask for more funding for their Access for All projects in the Chancellor^s Autumn Statement and if they are successful then it would be up to First Great Western to put in a sufficient bid. They (FGW) have assured me they are now shovel-ready and as soon as they get funding it will happen.

^I think we^ve managed to embarrass them enough. They^ve realised I^m not going to go away and that it was a major mistake on their part to have let the funding slip through their fingers in the way they did.^

There is no ramp on the south side of the platform and people in wheelchairs have to get off at Bristol on their return journey and catch a taxi the rest of the way. Parents with pushchairs also struggle using the station.

Alison has collected more than 1,800 signatures on a petition to call for a ramp to be installed and has sent it to MP Dr Liam Fox.

Alison added: ^I feel aggrieved the deadline was missed because it^s money we fought for and a lot of people put a lot of effort in to getting the funding including Nailsea Pensioners^ Voice and young parents.^

James Davis, of First Great Western, said: ^With the history of Nailsea and Backwell Station, we will be reapplying for funding as soon as possible. It is the top priority for us. If we are successful we will then have to go through the design process.^

North Somerset MP Dr Liam Fox has sent Alison^s petition to Baroness Kramer, the Government^s transport minister. In his letter he wrote: ^I hope you ensure that this public support is drawn to the attention of both your officials and FGW when the issue is next discussed.^

The Government^s Autumn Statement is expected to be released on December 3.

Crikey. Where did the NST dig that image up from? Not seen that livery (ex Silverlink (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverlink)) in a long time. 

Hmm.  ::) :o

Confession time: my own figure, suggested in this topic earlier this year, was a complete and utter stab in the dark - deliberately pitched at just under £1 million.


On that basis, I ought to have a job as a building surveyor with Network Rail!

Chris.  ;)