London Southend Airport & Environs Joint Area Action Plan Issues & Options Paper

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Issues and Options for the Southend Airport JAAP. I have received the documentation through my contacts at the c2c office in Westcliff. However, I am responding on behalf of both National Express's rail businesses in Southend (c2c Rail and National Express East Anglia) and would be grateful if you would amend your database to include my details for further consultations.

Our prime interest in this proposal is in respect of the proposed new station at the airport, which is intended to be served by all trains on the Southend Victoria route operated by National Express East Anglia (NXEA). The proposal is that NXEA will also be responsible for the staffing and management of the new station. Initial meetings have been held with Laing Rail to set out some principles on which the proposals can be examined in more detail. It is important to note however that our involvement in this project is subject to the franchise term set by the Department for Transport (DfT), currently 2014 for NXEA and 2011 for c2c. In this respect we will need to keep DfT appraised of developments in order that they can assess the impact on future franchises.

The JAAP sets out a number of options for levels of development on the site, both for airport and commercial uses. Clearly, more intensive development will support a more positive business case for the airport, and this in turn will reflect on the business case for the station and the rail service. Preliminary indications are that the station will require the higher levels of growth in air passengers (Scenario 3) for it to be economically viable in its own right. We believe therefore that the station must develop a parallel role as a commuter station for travel to London, and as a destination station for the increased employment on the site, if it is to be feasible in the longer term.

To that end we would lend our support in principle to the following elements of the proposals:

Provision of car parking facilities to support the role of a commuter station, although we will need to undertake our own assessment of the impact of this facility on existing travel patterns across the Southend area, including those on the c2c route to London. We would expect some abstraction of revenue to take place from other stations, but would take a cautious view of the extent of this at this stage. Many of the stations in the local area have limited car parking, and we are aware of a certain amount of rail heading to those stations where parking is available (for example Leigh-on-Sea).

Creation of a public transport interchange at the station. You will be aware that Southend is a national pilot for the station Travel Plans initiative, which encourages a more sustainable approach to the journey to the station. We would expect this approach to be continued at the new station, so whilst provision of a car park is essential, provision for other modes (bus, taxi, cycle, walking) is also required. In particular, the connecting bus service to the employment areas will be hugely important if we are to secure a significant mode share of employee traffic. We would strongly support a requirement for the promoters of the airport expansion to undertake a station travel plan as part of the planning conditions imposed by the planning authority.

Following a recent meeting with Laing Rail, National Express will now be carrying out its own business case evaluation of the station proposal, including identification of our costs for station operation and our estimates of revenue growth. This will inform our view on the airport expansion in the longer term, but in the mean time we remain committed to the principle of the station project.

Please contact me if you need any further clarification on any aspect of our response.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Issues and Options for the Southend Airport JAAP. I have received the documentation through my contacts at the c2c office in Westcliff. However, I am responding on behalf of both National Express's rail businesses in Southend (c2c Rail and National Express East Anglia) and would be grateful if you would amend your database to include my details for further consultations.

Our prime interest in this proposal is in respect of the proposed new station at the airport, which is intended to be served by all trains on the Southend Victoria route operated by National Express East Anglia (NXEA). The proposal is that NXEA will also be responsible for the staffing and management of the new station. Initial meetings have been held with Laing Rail to set out some principles on which the proposals can be examined in more detail. It is important to note however that our involvement in this project is subject to the franchise term set by the Department for Transport (DfT), currently 2014 for NXEA and 2011 for c2c. In this respect we will need to keep DfT appraised of developments in order that they can assess the impact on future franchises.

The JAAP sets out a number of options for levels of development on the site, both for airport and commercial uses. Clearly, more intensive development will support a more positive business case for the airport, and this in turn will reflect on the business case for the station and the rail service. Preliminary indications are that the station will require the higher levels of growth in air passengers (Scenario 3) for it to be economically viable in its own right. We believe therefore that the station must develop a parallel role as a commuter station for travel to London, and as a destination station for the increased employment on the site, if it is to be feasible in the longer term.

To that end we would lend our support in principle to the following elements of the proposals:

Provision of car parking facilities to support the role of a commuter station, although we will need to undertake our own assessment of the impact of this facility on existing travel patterns across the Southend area, including those on the c2c route to London. We would expect some abstraction of revenue to take place from other stations, but would take a cautious view of the extent of this at this stage. Many of the stations in the local area have limited car parking, and we are aware of a certain amount of rail heading to those stations where parking is available (for example Leigh-on-Sea).

Creation of a public transport interchange at the station. You will be aware that Southend is a national pilot for the station Travel Plans initiative, which encourages a more sustainable approach to the journey to the station. We would expect this approach to be continued at the new station, so whilst provision of a car park is essential, provision for other modes (bus, taxi, cycle, walking) is also required. In particular, the connecting bus service to the employment areas will be hugely important if we are to secure a significant mode share of employee traffic. We would strongly support a requirement for the promoters of the airport expansion to undertake a station travel plan as part of the planning conditions imposed by the planning authority.

Following a recent meeting with Laing Rail, National Express will now be carrying out its own business case evaluation of the station proposal, including identification of our costs for station operation and our estimates of revenue growth. This will inform our view on the airport expansion in the longer term, but in the mean time we remain committed to the principle of the station project.

Please contact me if you need any further clarification on any aspect of our response.