FORD ECO-TOWN: Ford station's position crucial to eco-success

The amount of parking around the coastway train link is already a major concern for villagers, as the Observer has reported.

The level of traffic could increase considerably if a warning by Arun District Council chief executive Ian Sumnall comes true.

He warned a meeting of the council's eco-town select committee that the location of the railway station to serve the proposed 5,000 homes at Ford was crucial.

The original proposals involved moving the station to a site closer to the heart of the intended development.

But it was reported to the committee by council senior planning officer Neil Crowther that Network Rail wanted the station to be improved rather than moved.

Mr Sumnall said leaving the station at the north eastern extremity of the eco-town, with its current timetable, would lessen the transport advantages of the development.

"If you are having to drive your car to get to the railway station, then you start reducing the carbon free status of the eco-town," he pointed out.

Ford also suffered from a current lack of fast services to London. This could prompt eco-town residents, if the timetable remained the same, to join those driving to Barnham to make the fast trains.

"Barnham now has the best connections from within the Arun district," he said. "Whereas Arundel used to be a popular station to drive to, with a big car park, that is no longer the case because the fast trains don't stop there.

"It now takes just 28 minutes to get from Barnham to Horsham and one hour and 20 minutes to London. But you can't park in Barnham because it is so popular."

However, a letter from carfree UK sent to the committee says that the eco-town promoters had assured the group the railway station proposals were unchanged.

The promoters would be willing to pay for a new station to leave Network Rail only to decide if it was feasible.

Steve Melia, the co-ordinator of carfree UK, said: "Our research suggests that access to rail is critical to the transport strategy of eco-towns.

"We believe that Ford is one of the better eco-town proposals. Its transport strategy is more realistic than many of the others.

"Although buses and cycling may carry more journeys, our research suggests that access to rail is a key criterion for people who choose to live without a car.

"The proposal for Ford has the advantage that it is on a main rail line offering direct and relatively frequent services to multiple destinations.

"As it is shown on the current plans, the furthest point of the proposed development is just over 2km from the proposed station, with most of the residential areas much closer."

This should offer walkable access to rail for most of the new population if the right routes were created, he said.

He added: "The proposal for a car-free town centre around the relocated station is a strength of the Ford proposal and, again, would seem to be realistic."Car-free developments are working successfully in different parts of Europe.

"If the residents of Ford eco-town have to pass through a car-free centre on the way to the railway station, this will offer a powerful incentive to travel by non-car means."

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