If you want to raise your objection to the rail spur please sign the petition.

If you have additional concerns about the proposal, this page will show you how to respond to the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

The plan especially affects you if you live in Rhoose, Llantwit Major, St Athan or any other area of the Vale of Glamorgan. But you can make a representation wherever you live – maybe you work in the Vale or are a regular visitor.

There are two main options.

Option 1: You can download the Council form from their website, as a PDF file, print it out at home, fill it in and then submit it to the Council (by post or in person at the Docks Office).

Option 2: Alternatively, you can go to the Council’s website and fill in their online form. More details below.

Don’t miss the deadline. Whichever option you choose, your response must reach the Council by no later than 5PM on Monday 2nd April 2012. They will be very strict about this deadline so please don’t miss your chance to comment. The proposed plan will affect us all for years to come.

Option 1: Download the form, print it, fill it in and submit it

If you want to download the form, here is a direct link:

Deposit Local Development Plan Representation Form (PDF file)

OK so this is the form to print out if you want to write down your views.

Now go straight to the step-by-step guide below.

Once you’ve filled in your form, you’ll need to post it or drop it in at the Docks Office. The address is:

The Vale of Glamorgan Council
Dock Office
Barry Docks
Barry
CF63 4RT

Remember it must be there before 5PM on Monday 2nd April.

Option 2: Fill in the form online

If you want to fill in the form online, then we’ll take you through it now.

Visit this webpage:

Deposit Local Development Plan Representation Form
(online form)

One useful thing to know is that you can save your form and come back another time. There is a Save button at the bottom of the page. When you click it the system will prompt you to create an account.

You can fill in sections in any order as there are Previous and Next buttons to navigate.

Again, make sure you’ve submitted the online form by 5PM on Monday 2nd April.

Step-by-step guide (general info for both options)

This secton has general info which applies whether you’re submitting online or on paper.

OK. Let’s go through the form step-by-step.

Section 1 is for your Contact Details. Online, in order to progress you must click the box to agree to the Data Protection statement.

(There is also an optional space for an agent’s details – you only need to fill this in if you’re been appointed to represent somebody.)

Section 2a is called Commenting on the plan and has just one question, ‘Do you consider that the LDP is sound?’ If you agree with us on the Stop the Spur campaign then select the answer ‘I think the LDP is unsound and should be changed’

Section 2b follows on from the ‘unsound’ answer and is for indicating which test(s) the plan has failed. (If you’re on the online form it will display once you’ve clicked the ‘unsound’ answer in 2a.) There are specific sorts of tests that this plan has to pass. If you don’t think it does pass these tests, then you can say so. The test that we believe the rail spur has failed is Test CE2, namely “The strategy, policies and allocations are not realistic and appropriate having considered the relevant alternatives and/or are not founded on a robust and credible evidence base”.

Section 3 is titled Comments and Suggested Changes. If you’re online now might be a good time to save your form just in case.

Section 3a: For the rail spur issue, fill in the following policy numbers:

Policy number: SP7(1)
Paragraph number: 5.55
Proposals Map: SP7(1)
Constraints Map: Ancient and Semi Natural Woodland
Appendices: Appendix 9

Section 3b: Select ‘Yes’, you do wish to see changes to the plan.

Section 3c: Select the option ‘A new, deleted or amended site’.

Section 3d: Select select ‘Yes’ the site was previously submitted as a Candidate Site and then type:

Model Farm, Port Road, Rhoose

into the Site name box and site reference:

2501/CS.1

Section 3e: In the representation box you can mention that you’re a local resident. You can also mention any links to your business, community group or any other group you represent if it may help your point.

Section 3f: Here you write your comments about the rail spur and say they also apply to Policies SP2(3), MG13 and MG20(5). See below for some ideas which you may want to use or adapt.

• In terms of the operation of the Airport there is not a strong case for the proposal in economic terms,as passengers using rail links to access the Airport are very much in a minority. On the face of it the link would be economically unviable,and on its own would do little to boost usage of the Airport. Indeed a recently published report concluded that it is the destinations/routes offered that are the main determinants of Airport usage.
• Further, at a more practical level there are capacity problems with attempting to target a provision of four trains per hour to the Airport, as this may potentially clash/interfere with further improvements to services on the Vale of Glamorgan line whch is already constrained by the freight trains which service Aberthaw Power Station.
• The route does not follow the contours, and as such would necessitate making substantial cuttings, two tunnels (one under Port Road and one under the Airport terminal road) and then building a bridge 340m long and approximately 23m high at its highest point where it crosses the existing Whitelands Brook. Clearly, such provision is a major engineering work and would be extremely expensive to construct but it is not a proposal contained within any national or regional transport plan. The works would obviously have an adverse visual impact on this rural and coastal location, and given its elevated nature it would be extremely difficult to mitigate its effect. Such impact is all the more concerning as the immediately adjacent area is identified as an extension to Porthkerry Country Park.
• There appears to be no supporting evidence referred to in the Vale of Glamorgan council’s Supporting Documents to explain on what basis the alignment of the proposed rail link was selected.
• In addition, the construction and operation of the railway would be at the expense of a large carbon footprint.
• The route proposed would have an adverse visual impact on this rural area which is currently identified in the Council’s own Unitary Development Plan as a ‘Green Wedge’.

Section 4 is titled What happens next. If you’d be happy to speak at the hearing, potentially, you can indicate this.