My Commitment:
Residents deserve a robust and reliable transport infrastructure. I will work to improve our road networks and local train links so we can get to work and back to our families safely, but also support green transport options wherever possible.
The Conservatives secured the funding we need to build the Melton by-pass and its Southern link. I will do all I can to make sure it is successfully delivered in full.
I will work to make the A1 safer, including increasing its capacity and try to find solutions to tackle accident hotspots on the A607 and especially the A52 through Bottesford.
Keeping pressure on the East Midlands Railway to improve connectivity and reliability will support residents who commute for work or to see family - specifically increasing services on the Poacher line at Bottesford. I also protect rural bus services wherever possible to keep all of us connected and tackle rural loneliness.
NEWS June 2021: LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL AGREES TO RETURN TO DISCUSSIONS ON GOVERNMENT GRANT FOR MMDR
All levels of government must work together for the communities that we serve. And I’ve always been forthright in my view that Meltonians need the MMDR to be delivered in full to unlock the bright future that Melton deserves.
So I welcome Leicestershire County Council’s decision today not to reject the £15m Government grant needed to make the whole bypass a reality, and to re-open conversations with the Ministry for Housing and Local Government, and Melton Borough Council to find a way forward.
I want to thank the almost 2,500 people who signed the petition, and all those who wrote to the County Council to urge them to back Melton. Together with Melton Borough Council, especially Leader Joe Orson, and the Government we have made the case these past few weeks that the Government grant should not be rejected.
We’re so close to securing this bypass, and we cannot afford to kick this decision down the road again. I hope that all parties can come together quickly and work with the support of Government to make the MMDR a reality. As ever, I will do all I can to see our vital bypass delivered in full.
.Thank you everyone for making your voice heard. Now we need to get on and reach an agreement - Melton has waited long enough
NEWS June 2021: Working to Save the MMDR
I continue to work to save the MMDR.
NEWS June 2021: Leicestershire County Council put roadblock on MMDR
On 14th June 2021, Leicestershire County Council announced that it is considering rejecting £15m of Government funding for the Southern stretch of the MMDR.
I don't consider this to be acceptable. So I've been working with extensively behind the scenes over the last year to save the MMDR in full.
And I am pushing Leicestershire County Council to make the right decision, and get behind the MMDR, for the people of Melton.
NEWS February 2021: Success! More Services at Bottesford - PROMISE DELIVERED
I'm delighted to have secured additional services on the Poacher Line at Bottesford from May following they election commitment to improve services.
East Midlands Railway has confirmed that additional trains will stop at Aslockton, Bottesford and Radcliffe-on-Trent on weekdays (towards Nottingham) and on Saturdays and Sundays (towards Skegness).
I have been campaigning for the last year to improve services on this line following election commitments they made. This announcement is a huge step forward in delivering on that campaign. Although the final May changes are still subject to some final amendments, the changes will mean much improved services for local villages across the Vale.
I promised residents I would secure more train services at Bottesford and I’m delighted that these timetable changes will give residents of the Vale exactly that. From May, travelling to Grantham or Nottingham, and beyond, for work or leisure will be much easier with much more frequent services and better connections. It’s fantastic to see EMR listening to, and acting on, the requests and concerns of residents. I will continue to campaign for further timetable enhancements for residents of Melton and the Vale but today’s announcement is fantastic news.
I will continue to work to improve the line and the wider transport provision across the area, having already successfully secured £50,000 from the Department of Transport to look at improving train services from Melton to Nottingham (https://www.aliciakearns.com/news/melton-mp-secures-ps50000-commitment-improve-local-train-provision), a commitment from Highways England to improve safety measures at the A52 junction at Bottesford (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LblFQzJ1aVk), and secured funds and support to investigate a further train station and service in Rutland (https://www.aliciakearns.com/news/alicia-kearns-mp-welcomes-provisional-rcc-funding-feasibility-study-luffenham-rail-services).
NEWS December 2020: Success! £50,000 Secured for a Feasibility Study for New Train Services from Melton to Nottingham
I am delighted to report that my bid to increase train services to Nottingham via Syston and Loughborough from Melton Mowbray has been allocated £50,000 and moved on to the next stage of the Government’s Reversing Beeching Programme. This will improve our connectivity throughout the East Midlands and improve services to Leicester by relieving pressure.
This project is one of only 13 bids to be successful in the second tranche of this programme, where the funding will be spent undertaking further economic and transport studies to develop a business case to deliver a one service per hour train provision on the Syston track.
I’m pleased today at the Spending Review to have achieved a tangible result of the election commitment I made to improve Melton’s transport less than a year ago.
NEWS December 2020: Success! £4,000 Secured for a Feasibility Study for Improved Train Services in Rutland
I am delighted to report that Rutland County Council has agreed to provisionally contribute £4,000 in principle for a feasibility study for improved rail services in Rutland.
This study will examine whether we should re-open Luffenham station, or somewhere nearby to expand our transport options in Rutland.
No decisions have been made yet, but this is a crucial step in understanding what is possible and what would be right for us here in Rutland.
I’m also running a consultation at this early stage, so please do have your say!
NEWS November 2020: Success! Site Survey of A52 at Bottesford Completed - Improvements to be made in 2021: PROMISE DELIVERED
Since December, I’ve been working hard to improve our local transport infrastructure, particularly the A52 junction at Bottesford – where residents have quite rightly had enough of feeling unsafe and heart-breaking accidents.
I’m pleased to report that Highways England has now completed the site survey I requested of the junction.
I will be keeping a close eye on the survey’s results as this is the vital first step to identifying solutions to make it safer.
I hope to see improvements by or during early Summer 2021! Watch this space!
UPDATE November 2020: Investigating Electric Charging Points
I welcome that the sale of petrol and diesel cars will end from 2030 – ten years earlier than previously planned. However, I want rural communities to be at the heart of the Government’s 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.
Rutland and Melton is home to over 150 beautiful villages. I’ve written to the Department for Transport requesting details of how they plan to install a robust car charging infrastructure to ensure no part of Rutland and Melton is left out of the Government’s green levelling up agenda.
It is vital that our area benefits from extensive charging facilities, not only for residents’ convenience but to keep our roads safe.
I will, of course, keep residents updated about the progress of my communication with the Department for Transport on this most important of issues.
UPDATE October 2020: Have Your Say! Surveys Launched on Bottesford and Rutland Rail Services
In Rutland I’m supporting a feasibility study by the Department of Transport into whether a station at Luffenham could be rebuilt to better connect Rutlanders to Stamford and Peterborough, Kettering and Corby. I’m co-sponsoring this with three of our neighbouring MPs. It would better connect 400,000 people and enormously improve our connectivity and public transport options locally.
Whilst most of the infrastructure is already in place, three-and-a-half miles of new track would need to be laid between Seaton and Luffenham so we need to look carefully at whether this is the right thing for Rutland. A feasibility study will assess whether the demand is there, whether this is a viable route, and where an additional station would best be located in Rutland, and where the line would best travel to suit our communities.
No decisions have been made, but it is absolutely right that we investigate this possibility and that I reach out to residents to understand if this is something you want.
Once the feasibility has been assessed if the study goes ahead, we will better understand if the new line is possible, and whether it would work for us in Rutland. At that point, hearing from residents will be very important as we will have granular detail that we can all consider and review. However, I’m very keen to hear residents’ views, even at this early stage, so I would ask that you please fill in the survey on my website here, and I will provide the findings of the feasibility study as soon as it’s completed.
In Melton, I am holding a survey to hear residents’ views on the Poacher Line at Bottesford following my bid to the Department for Transport in June.
Watch this video to find out why!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvd1_35dqCM
UPDATE October 2020: Improving the A1 - Letter to the Transport Secretary
I coordinated a joint letter to the Secretary of State for Transport calling for an urgent upgrade to the A1 between the M25 and M62. I am calling for central Government to work with us locally to tackle the East Midland’s pressing transport concerns.
Residents have raised the significant congestion issues posed by the inadequate capacity of the A1, and time and time again we all experience how it is closed at least once a week in the Rutland stretch alone due to an accident. This is not good enough.
Residents deserve safe and reliable roads to travel for both work and leisure, and I promised to improve our local transport infrastructure at the election.
I will keep residents updated on the progress of this campaign which I am leading in Parliament. This will not be swift to deliver, but I am determined that we get the upgrades we need.
UPDATE July 2020: Lobbing Highways England to Undertake a Survey of the A52 Junction at Bottesford
As promised, I'm working hard to secure a site survey at Bottesford so that safety improvements are made to this junction that is far too unsafe.
UPDATE June 2020: Bids Submitted for Funding for Feasibility Studies at Melton and in Rutland
I am delighted to have submitted two bids to the Department for Transport’s ‘Restore Your Railway’ fund.
My first bid seeks to bring more regular services to Bottesford on the Poacher Line having heard residents’ concerns on the doorstep countless times. The second bid I submitted calls for increased services to Nottingham and Leicester, via Syston and Loughborough from Melton Mowbray. This will better connect residents travelling for both business and leisure purposes and reduce some of the frankly bizarre route and changes residents currently have to endure.
My hope is that this will also help reduce pressure on busy and often dangerous local roads.
UPDATE February 2020: Call for Increased Funding for Transport at Local Government Level
I urged the Government to provide robust support to Local Authorities to ensure they can provide the transport needed for residents to go to work, socialise and travel for leisure.
UPDATE January 2020: Call for Government to Invest in the A1
In the House of Commons, I urged the Government to invest in improving the A1 as a key part of levelling up our country.
