Issue - meetings

1.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR CHAMBERS-DUBUS

“Great Western Railway is consulting on the future of the ticket office at Gloucester Railway Station with a predicted closure date of June 2024.

In recent years there has been a huge investment in the Railway Station, Transport Hub and the Forum area of the City. This has included:

·       Gloucester Rail Station – £6 million investment from Gfirst LEP and the Government.

·       Gloucester transport hub - £7.5 million investment from Gfirst LEP and the Government.

·       The Forum - £85 million investment from the Reef Group and Gloucester City Council.

Gloucester Railway Station, alongside the Transport Hub and the Forum development are the gateway to our proud City for anyone arriving by public transport. The ticket office at the station is an integral part of that for both visitors and residents and is frequently busy providing customers with far more than just tickets. Losing the ticket office would be detrimental to the visitor and resident experience when accessing or leaving the City by train and therefore detrimental to the wider scheme of improvements in that part of the City.

Whilst acknowledging the limitations of the Council regarding the retention of the ticket office at Gloucester Railway Station, this Council pledges to do all within its power to reverse any decision that may lead to the ticket office’s closure.

Therefore, this Council resolves to:

1.    Write to The Rt Hon Mark Harper MP, Secretary of State for Transport, to express concern about the possible closure of the ticket office at Gloucester Railway Station.

2.    Write to Richard Graham MP for Gloucester to ask for their support to retain the ticket office at Gloucester Train Station.

3.    Write to Laurence Robertson MP for Tewkesbury to ask for their support to retain the ticket office at Gloucester Train Station.

4.    Liaise with Great Western Railway regarding the importance of the ticket office at Gloucester Railway Station and it’s retention.

2.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR GRAVELLS

“This Council:

1.    Recognises the valuable work of the many voluntary, community and sporting groups right  around the city;

2.    Takes note that many such groups often have to rely on grant funding through competitive bidding processes to be able to deliver the services, facilities and projects which residents in the city enjoy and which enhance our neighbourhoods; 

3.    Agrees that more could be done to maximise the amount of external grant funding brought into the city through council-led and community-led applications;

4.    Agrees therefore to convene a meeting of the VCS Alliance, Gloucestershire University, Gloucestershire Funders Network, and the Growth Hub to discuss how, in  a system to be devised , we could support the VCS and community groups in this area to be more successful in their applications and  bids for external grant funding.”

3.    PROPOSED BY COUNCILLOR HILTON

“This council notes that the administration has failed to meet the deadline to produce audited accounts for the 2021/22 financial year. 

Council notes that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)  ...  view the full agenda text for item 37