As excitement builds towards the shortlist announcement, Warwickshire residents have been showing their support for the Nuneaton bid.
Following a call out to local people and businesses, asking them to get behind the bid to make Nuneaton the new home of the Great British Railways (GBR), the number of responses and the level of support has been very encouraging, to the online book of support.
The town of Nuneaton is among 42 towns and cities across the UK bidding to host the Head Quarters of Great British Railways.
Due to come into being next year, GBR will be the body which oversees the rail network, absorbing Network Rail, and bringing together track and train with the aim of delivering a more customer-focused railway. This vital organisation’s remit will include owning rail infrastructure, receiving fare revenue, running and planning the network and setting most fares and timetables.
The shortlist of potential host towns will be announced over the coming weeks and, as part of the selection process, there will be a local public vote. In common with other bid locations, residents and supporters of the Nuneaton bid were invited to sign up to support the campaign, via the bid web page. Hundreds of residents took the time to send a message of support.
Some examples of these messages of support are below:
“Nuneaton is the perfect blend of countryside, amenities, new property developments and local connections to larger cities. Bringing GBR to the town will drive an increase in employment, value and culture.”
“It will bring prosperity to the town. A much-needed lift with new jobs created. Nuneaton is very well placed in a Central location and easy to get to.”
“Nuneaton with its proud tradition of Railways dating from 1847 when the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) opened Trent Valley Line. This was followed in 1850 by the branch line to Coventry. In 1864 the second main line serving Birmingham Nuneaton Leicester was opened by the Midland Railway. All this important history makes it the perfect location for the GBR HQ.”
“Nuneaton is the most central town in the country and. Is well connected by national and international transportation links. The headquarters of The Great British Railway would fit well with the regeneration of the town now taking place.”
“Nuneaton lies at the heart of the British rail network, with links to Birmingham, Manchester, Leicester, North Wales and London within 1 hour. As a deprived area it would hugely benefit from the jobs and the investment becoming the HQ for the GBR would bring, and GBR would benefit from a huge talent pool both locally and from Birmingham, Leicester, Rugby, Coventry and Milton Keynes.”
The town of Nuneaton has a long association with railways, with a mainline station as early as 1847. The railways were a key driver of the local coal industry, with an extensive network of lines across North Warwickshire. Nuneaton and Bedworth went on to become major centres of manufacturing and engineering for the nascent car industry and today in Warwickshire is a major centre of transport technology.
Warwickshire is home to a number of rolling stock and supply chain companies while Coventry is the home of Very Light Rail (VLR) technology. Nuneaton is ideally located at a central point on the rail network, with easy access to the rail industry’s operating, design and manufacturing eco-system across the Midlands and wider UK.
Nuneaton itself is the subject of the ambitious Transforming Nuneaton programme, a venture between the County Council, the Borough Council, the local enterprise partnership and the private sector. It aims to revitalise the town centre, creating an attractive and vibrant place with upmarket retail and business accommodation, town centre living, improved public space and high-quality leisure and entertainment facilities.
Councillor Wallace Redford, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning said: “It’s fantastic to see so many of our residents coming out in force to offer their messages of support to make Nuneaton the home of Great British Railways.
“Locating GBR’s HQ to Nuneaton would provide a huge boost to the Transforming Nuneaton Programme (TNP) which aims to create a vibrant, attractive and prosperous town centre. In return, this growing Midlands town will provide GBR with the perfect launching point to revolutionise and repurpose the country’s national railways. Nuneaton is ideally geographically situated and is on the cusp of becoming a town that any business would be proud to be associated with.
“We now eagerly await finding out whether this exciting bid will make the shortlist later in the month.”
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council leader Cllr Kristofer Wilson: “This bid to be the new home of GBR is a statement that Nuneaton and Bedworth have high ambitions for our towns, and I would encourage all of our residents to sign up and support our bid. We are doing all we can to make Nuneaton and Bedworth a great place to live, work and visit. We are working hard as a borough council with our partners across Coventry and Warwickshire and beyond to attract new interest to our area, including new jobs, homes and inward investment. This is a great opportunity to achieve that.
“We believe the development potential of Nuneaton means the town has a strong case to be considered as the best location for this prestigious headquarters. Our transport connections with the rest of the country are excellent and our location would literally put GBR in the heart of the UK. The rewards this could bring to our town are huge, and I urge everyone to back the bid."
Rt Hon Marcus Jones MP for Nuneaton, Arley and Hartshill, said: “I am proud to represent Nuneaton which is a town with a proud history and a bright future, and I urge the Department of Transport to select Nuneaton as the new headquarters for Great British Railways.
“Our rich rail history, strong links to the network and the coming transformation of our town centre make Nuneaton the best option for new home of Great British Railways.
“As the most central town in England, Nuneaton is very well connected in terms of local, national and international transport links.
“I am very much supporting Nuneaton’s bid!”
The book of support remains open to residents and anyone wanting to complete it can do so here: book of support
Residents can follow the campaign on social media using: #NuneatonGBRPlus
More information about the Nuneaton Bid can be found here: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/2844/bid-aims-to-make-nuneaton-the-headquarters-of-great-british-railways
And on the website here: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/NuneatonGBRHQPlus
An article, featuring the Nuneaton Bid for GBR HQ was recently featured in a special edition of Rail Business Daily’s Inside Track: https://issuu.com/raildirector/docs/greatbritishrailwayshq