This petition was submitted to Vale of Glamorgan Council on the morning of 2nd April 2012. It is not accepting any further signatures but the campaign is ongoing so please follow Stop The Spur on Twitter and Facebook to stay informed.

We, the undersigned, think the Vale of Glamorgan’s Local Development Plan is unsound and should be amended because the proposed rail spur fails Test CE2 in that the strategy, policies and allocations regarding the proposed rail spur to Cardiff Airport are not realistic and appropriate having considered the relevant alternatives and/or are not founded on a robust and credible evidence base.

Our reasons for opposing the rail spur include the following:

• It will have a negative impact on the proposals to increase the frequency of existing passenger trains from hourly to half hourly on the Vale of Glamorgan Line between Barry and Bridgend which, combined with the freight trains that serve Aberthaw, will push the section of the line that will be used by the Airport trains between Barry and the proposed spur over capacity.
• It will not encourage people to use Cardiff Airport as, according to Cardiff Airport, it is the destinations/routes offered and the cost of flights that are the main determinants of Airport usage.
• It will have a negative impact on greenfield land that forms part of the existing green wedge allocation in the VOG’s adopted UDP between Barry and Rhoose.
• It will have an adverse visual impact on greenfield land that forms part of the existing green wedge allocation in the VOG’s adopted UDP between Barry and Rhoose.
• It will not be required to serve the proposed allocation of employment land to the south of Port Road, Rhoose because there is a surfeit of employment land that exists to the north of Port Road, Rhoose of 37.0 hectares. As a result, there is no need to develop the farmland to the south as it will prejudice the integrity of the existing green wedge and so the VoG should reduce the allocation of land so that it comprises the land to the north of Port Road, Rhoose only.
• It will involve making substantial cuttings, tunnels and a bridge because it does not follow the contours of the land and will introduce large and alien features into the landscape.
• It will destroy Grade 3a agricultural land which is protected by national planning policy as well as other areas of agricultural land.
• It will have a negative impact on the proposed extension to Porthkerry Country Park.
• It will have a negative impact on the following Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation:
  • 328 – North West Bullhouse Brook;
  • 329 – North Bullhouse Brook; and
  • 330 – West of the Old Rectory.

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