Ribble Valley Council seeks improved services

The potential next steps towards developing rail services from Clitheroe towards Hellifield and beyond were discussed at a meeting of the Ribble Valley Borough Council (RVBC) Economic Development Committee on February 1.

Clitheroe is currently served hourly by trains to/from Manchester via Bolton and Blackburn. The agenda paper for the meeting said that council officers have held initial discussions with a Lancashire County Council rail specialist to better understand the issues involved in developing future rail services from Clitheroe towards Hellifield and thence to Leeds and Lancaster, including building new stations.

Sites for new stations at Chatburn and Gisburn “are currently protected through the RVBC’s Core Strategy”. Newsholme and Rimington are also seen as potential sites, coupled to new housing and other developments.

Research associated with the new Northern franchise had “found such services would not be economic and therefore such provision was not included within the franchise”.

A detailed business case would therefore be needed ahead of any fresh approach. This would require specialist consultancy input, with the process also likely to take a significant amount of time, the meeting was told.

Councillors also discussed the possibility of extending the recently introduced Manchester-Blackburn service through to Clitheroe.

RVBC’s wish for services through to Hellifield ties in with the SettleCarlisle Line’s support groups’ aspirations for a ManchesterBlackburn-Cl it hero e-H el li fieldCarlisle service( RAIL 845).

Lancashire County Council plans to withdraw its financial support for Clitheroe bus/rail interchange, subject to public consultation.

LCC said it considers that, due to wider budgetary issues, it can no longer support this facility and the staff who provide the service. RVBC and the various members of the Community Rail Partnership are investigating “possible ways to retain this service”.