noticeboard issue from GM

There have been two Holding Board meetings recently. A special Board was called on the 27th November to consider a presentation on the Bridgnorth Development Project. Ian Baxter, Project Sponsor, presented and was assisted during the evening by David Postle, Chairman of the Conservation & Heritage Committee.

The presentation discussed five main elements of the Bridgnorth project, the listed building, access, public realm, accommodation and operations. With an examination of the financial performance of retail and catering at Bridgnorth, the presentation concluded looking at plans and draft building designs for new buildings. The Bridgnorth Development team was tasked with continuing the good work undertaken and to detail further two options for catering locations identified in the presentation.

Update on station redevelopment plans

Meeting between the SVR Holdings Representatives, Bridgnorth Project Leader and the Plan B Team
on 6th March 2013

The purpose of the meeting was to share ideas and concerns about the proposed development at Bridgnorth and, as stated in the noticeboard issue of 18th February, to explore how the project can be moved forward by working together as a team.

The meeting was conducted in a very constructive way and each person around the table was able to express his own ideas about the way forward. There was unanimous agreement about many of the discussion points, starting with the wider view of conservation within the railway as a whole and then coming back to the Bridgnorth project:

1. There is a commitment by all parties to set up a Conservation and Heritage Committee as soon as possible and to obtain Holdings Board ratification on March 19th. This Committee will be charged with overseeing and advising on conservation and heritage aspects of all projects dealing with the built environment.

2. There is an urgent need to produce a Conservation Plan for the whole railway by which new projects can be assessed

3. There is a need to conduct a survey of the whole railway to identify areas where the heritage image could be improved.

4. This is all done to re-establish the core values of what the SVR stands for in terms of heritage, preservation and history

5. The Bridgnorth project should be looked at within the context of the railway as a whole. Work should now be undertaken to re-assess the needs of that location and develop an updated project brief, to ensure that any proposals are related to that defined need, to prepare a business plan to prove that any development is sustainable, and to look at the availability of finance to support this project.

6. The design of any new works should be compatible with the existing environment and use principles and details that would have been used by the railway companies of the period at that location

7. The meeting recognised the invaluable input that the volunteer workforce makes to the railway. In particular it recognised that the skills of SVR volunteers, including those who attended this meeting, are such as to enable a scheme to be delivered that would be appropriate, and which would address most of the criticisms that have been aired recently.

The Board meeting of the 19th February stated that the presentation of the plans for Bridgnorth would be shown to the Plan B team first and then released to SVR live. However, such progress has been made since that Board meeting, and bearing in mind the points listed above, that it was considered that there was now no value in releasing information that was already out of date. It was therefore decided that further work would be undertaken by this group on the way forward with the Bridgnorth development. A new joint presentation will now be prepared which will reflect the latest position and which the group will then release for further consultation.

The meeting largely dealt with strategic level ideas and concerns. Matters of detail were purposely not addressed until the matters of strategy had been discussed. It was agreed that a further meeting should be held to continue the discussion and examine some of the more detailed issues relating to conservation and the Bridgnorth project in particular. This meeting has been scheduled for 27th March, where hopefully the momentum which has been started by this important and constructive meeting can be continued.

David Postle
Chairman

Nick Paul, Mike Ball, Nick Ralls, Paul Taylor
Severn Valley Holdings Company representatives

Ian Baxter, Bob Marrows, Kevin Simpson, Ced Jameson, David Redfern
Plan B team

Bridgnorth Development update:

Bridgnorth Development update:
Update report to the Holdings Board and invitees 19th February 2013

The format of the evening:
The meeting was well attended by representatives from the Holdings and Guarantee Boards, SVRCT Trustees and SVRA officers.

Paul Taylor, Project Manager gave a 30 minute presentation updating all those in attendance on how the Working Group has embraced a more traditional architectural philosophy and is making progress with the production of both business and conservation plans.

Decisions taken:
Questions were taken at the end of the presentation and it was agreed that:
‘Support be given to the revised design approach and permission for the Working Group to proceed with further consultation and development of the project, reporting back to the Holdings and Guarantee Board, SVRCT Trustees and SVRA officers in May 2013’

It was generally recognised that whilst good progress has been made there would be a need for a wider engagement with a number of interest groups before any schemes could be finalised and signed off by the Board.

Meeting with Plan B colleagues and the release of the presentation to the Members and Shareholders:
All attendees at the Holdings Board meeting agreed that whilst the distribution of the presentation to the membership and shareholders on SVRlive would be expedient, it was decided that the most appropriate course of action was to use the presentation to inform and consult Plan B colleagues of the current project development first.

The formation of a Conservation and Heritage Committee:
Following the end of the presentation SVRCT, SVRA and Guarantee Board Directors left and the normal business of the Holdings Board was undertaken.

Last night’s Board Meeting also received a recommendation that a new Committee be formed to support the Railway in all matters relating to Conservation and Heritage.

David Postle, Curator of Kidderminster Railway Museum has agreed to initially lead this new committee and will work with Mike Ball, Deputy Chairman of SVR(Holdings)Plc and Nick Ralls, General Manager to establish a clear mandate and terms of reference.
They will also consider the composition of the committee and propose a list of members, primarily drawn from the volunteers on the railway. This work will be completed in time for it to be issued prior to the next Board meeting so that it can be formally ratified. The next Board meeting is on Tuesday March 19th.

A meeting will be called in the immediate future with the team that has developed ‘Plan B’ to share with them the latest proposals that were presented at last night’s Board meeting, to enlist their support in the formation of the Conservation and Heritage Committee and to involve them in the on-going development of the Bridgnorth site.

The Holdings Board were keen that any project in the future concerning the built environment of the Severn Valley Railway is initiated with a full understanding of the importance of the historic precedent of the buildings and structures and has been considered by the new committee.

Nick Ralls
General Manager
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