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Hi all
Back to the Priory Station parking issue.
When the station itself was upgraded a number of years ago - before HS1 was a certainty for Dover this was through a number of partnerships and created thoughts on Dover as some where to keep an eye on.
Many of you will recall that after a heck of a lot of lobbying when HS1 was to finish its journey at Folkestone we managed to get a Government rethink to the extent that they purchased an extra train set and Network Rail carried out line improvements including moving the track in Shakespeare Tunnels. This was Team Dover, as we called it in those days, at its very best with all, well nearly all we did have some neggies, wanting this prestigious service to serve our town - since then it has also been extended during parts of the day to Deal & Sandwich but this couldn't have happened if we hadn't won the battle to get it to Dover in the first place.
At that time it was suggested by the rail industry that 34 parking spaces at Dover Priory were sufficient - cobblers and I said so right from the start but they wouldn't have it. We saw money invested in Folkestone and Ashford - Dover obviously started behind as we had to get the train here first - but we have been playing catch up very fast.
As Paul says above, there is continued interest in Dover and especially investment in Dover, even in these difficult times because, as one developer told me, Dover knows where it wants to go and is not leaving any stone unturned to get there. And we're not, look at the planning applications coming in and, yes, there are more to come - big stuff to but commercially sensitive at the moment so best not go there.
Why is this, because Dover is comparatively well connected to the rest of the UK, particularly London, by both road and rail. No 1 on my rail agenda is still to get the 1 hour time between St Pancras and Dover Priory and a number of us continue to lobby hard in a number of arenas.
So yes, this is good news for Dover, Dover is moving forward slowly but surely let's all start to sing this up and get the right messages out to the wider community - Dover is a good place to invest and we welcome entrepreneurs.
Nigel