Newhaven Marine station closure
Updated 24 September 2020
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/newhaven-marine-rail-station-closure/newhaven-marine-station-closure
Foreword
Network Rail, as network operator, proposes closure of Newhaven Marine station. This proposal is in accordance with the Railways closures guidance within the Railways Act 2005.
By closing the station, Network Rail would be able to focus rail industry resources on improving the passenger rail service in this area and support regeneration of the port of Newhaven and the surrounding area in partnership with East Sussex County Council. The track will remain as a siding for berthing trains, as now, but also for freight train access to Newhaven Port where a new dock and freight handling facility is due to open.
Executive summary
Introduction
Newhaven Marine, along with Newhaven Town and Newhaven Harbour, is one of 3 stations located in Newhaven, East Sussex. Newhaven Town and Newhaven Harbour are calling points on the Seaford line between Lewes and Seaford, and Newhaven Marine branches off the line just south of Newhaven Harbour. Newhaven Marine was originally built to provide rail passengers access to the Newhaven ferry terminal and was served by through trains from London Victoria.
In the 1980s the Newhaven ferry terminal was relocated north to a section of the port closer to Newhaven Town station, and passenger services into Newhaven Marine were slowly reduced until 2006, when services were suspended following safety concerns over the dangerous condition of the station canopy. Both the canopy and the station building were demolished in 2017. A single daily service in and out of the station operated as empty stock movements until early 2019 when these were suspended owing to signalling works.
This consultation proposes to close the station to passenger rail services, thus resolving the arrangement that has applied since 2006. The track will remain as a siding for berthing trains, as now, but also for freight train access to Newhaven Port where a new dock and freight handling facility is due to open.
How to respond
The consultation period began on 15 January 2020 and will run until 19 April 2020. Please ensure that your response reaches us before the closing date. If you would like further copies of this consultation document, it can be found on GOV.UK or you can contact Andrew Johnson at the address or email below if you need alternative formats (Braille, audio CD, etc.).
Please send consultation responses to:
Newhaven Marine Station consultation
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London SW1 4DR
Or by email to: newhavenmarine.consultation@dft.gov.uk
When responding, please state whether you are responding as an individual or representing the views of an organisation. If responding on behalf of a larger organisation, please make it clear who the organisation represents and, where applicable, how the views of members were assembled.
A list of those consulted is attached at Annex B. If you have any suggestions of others who may wish to be involved in this process please contact us.
Freedom of Information
Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to publication or disclosure in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
If you want information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, under the FOIA, there is a statutory code of practice with which public authorities must comply and which deals, amongst other things, with obligations of confidence.
In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information, we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the department.
The department will process your personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act (DPA) and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties.
Confidentiality and data protection
The Department for Transport (DfT) is carrying out this consultation to gather evidence on the Network Rail proposal to close Newhaven Marine station. The consultation is being carried out in the public interest to inform the Secretary of State for Transport’s opinion that the closure should be allowed. DfT is the data controller for your personal information.
When responding to this consultation you may share personal data with us such as postal, email or IP addresses. Any such data will only be stored for the duration of the consultation exercise and deleted following the publication of the DfT’s response to the consultation. Until that point, your information will be stored securely.
Sharing personal data
DfT may also share your consultation response with Network Rail, to inform discussion which will feed into our consideration and decision-making. However, no personal data (such as names and contact details) will be shared with these third parties.
Further information
DfT’s privacy policy has more information about your rights in relation to your personal data, how to complain and how to contact the Data Protection Officer.
To receive this information by telephone or post, contact us on 0300 330 3000 or write to
Data Protection Officer
Department for Transport
Ashdown House
Sedlescombe Road North
St Leonards-on-Sea
TN37 7GA
Closure of Newhaven Marine station
Purpose of the consultation
Network Rail, as network operator, have carried out an assessment in accordance with the Department for Transport’s (DfT) ‘Railways closures guidance’ of whether maintaining Newhaven Marine station as part of the national rail network represents value for money. It concluded that, given the lack of direct access to any other sites, such as the Port of Newhaven, proximity to the operational Newhaven Harbour station, and the demolition of the station building, canopy and subsequent loss of platform lighting, the station should be officially closed with immediate effect.
Under section 29(7)(a) of the Railways Act 2005 the Secretary of State for Transport, as the relevant national authority, is required to carry out a consultation concerning a rail operator’s proposal to discontinue use of a particular station if, having received the operator’s assessment, the Secretary of State has formed an opinion that the closure should be allowed.
A copy of the Railways closures guidance has been published on GOV.UK.
Interested parties are therefore invited to comment on Network Rail’s proposal.
Background
Newhaven Marine, along with Newhaven Town and Newhaven Harbour, is 1 of 3 stations located in Newhaven, East Sussex (see figure 1). Newhaven Town and Newhaven Harbour are calling points on the Seaford line between Lewes and Seaford (see figure 2), and Newhaven Marine branches off the line just south of Newhaven Harbour (see figure 3). Newhaven Marine, known as Platform 3 of Newhaven Harbour until 1984, was originally built to provide rail passengers access to the Newhaven ferry terminal, and was served by through trains from London Victoria. The structure of the English Channel travel market for rail passengers has changed considerably since, with the introduction of the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle and Eurostar services direct to Paris and Brussels contributing to the decline in passenger use of ferry services (see figure 4). While cross-channel ferry services continue from Newhaven, carrying a mixture of passengers and freight, the passenger ferry terminal building has since moved to a new location adjacent to Newhaven Town station.
Figure 1: aerial view Newhaven Marine
Aerial view of Newhaven with the locations of Newhaven Town, Newhaven Harbour and Newhaven Marine stations marked.
Figure 2: Newhaven track plan
Newhaven area track and station plan.
Figure 3: view of branch line to Newhaven Marine station
The branch line to Newhaven Marine station in October 2019 from the footbridge at Newhaven Harbour station.
Figure 4: English Channel passenger crossings by mode: Total Ferry, Channel Tunnel & Newhaven (millions) 1990 to 2018
Line graph adapted from Sea Passenger Statistics 2018: Table SPAS0101. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sea-passenger-statistics-2018-short-sea-routes-provisional)
In 2006 passenger rail services were suspended because of the dangerous condition of the station canopy. Both the canopy and the station building were demolished in 2017 (see figure 5). A single daily service in and out of the station operated as empty stock movements until early 2019 when these were suspended owing to signalling works. The proposed closure would see the platform demolished and the track remain as a siding for berthing trains, as now, but also for freight train access to Newhaven Port where a new dock and freight handling facility is due to open.
Figure 5: Platform at Newhaven Marine station
The platform at Newhaven Marine station, August 2018.
Summary of appraisal
The Port of Newhaven has confirmed that it has no plans to move the ferry passenger terminal back to the Newhaven Marine station site. In addition, the port plans to improve the facilities for passengers at the current ferry terminal (adjacent to Newhaven Town station) and for freight at a site beyond the existing Newhaven Marine platform. The track would remain electrified and available for use as a berthing siding/turnback for 8-car passenger trains, as now, as well as being the reception siding for a new freight facility beyond the 8-car mark. A ‘STOP – do not proceed without permission’ board would be erected at the end of Network Rail infrastructure.
As part of a wider scheme to support economic development of the port of Newhaven and its enterprise zone, East Sussex County Council and the Department for Transport have given approval to proceed with the construction of the Newhaven Port Access Road (NPAR) as part of wider objectives to regenerate the Port of Newhaven and the surrounding area. The NPAR is a new road and flyover providing access to the East Quay, the southernmost and largest section of the port of Newhaven, from the A259 road that connects Newhaven to Seaford and further east towards Kent. A copy of the NPAR Business Case may be found on the East Sussex County Council website (PDF, 4MB).
With the regeneration of the Port of Newhaven, and in particular the East Quay, as a strategic hub for industry and freight in East Sussex, the Newhaven Marine station site would change to a rail freight facility. Rail could compete with road freight for the inland distribution of goods and bring potential environmental and decongestion benefits. Alternatively, restoring frequent passenger services to Newhaven Marine may generate passenger traffic from those working at the East Quay.
The appraisal considers the case for infrastructure works necessary to restore passenger rail services at Newhaven Marine station against the baseline do-minimum of retaining the status quo of suspended passenger rail services to the station. The appraisal finds that there would be insignificant passenger demand and benefits from restoring passenger rail services to the station as it does not serve the passenger ferry terminal or any other potential trip origins or destinations, nor does using Newhaven Marine station offer any journey time savings as it would only be accessible via the southbound Newhaven Harbour station platform, crossing the footbridge and exiting from the northbound platform. Currently the Port of Newhaven does not allow any access to the station. Additionally, reconstruction of the station would be expected to incur minor disbenefits on existing users and non-users of the network.
An estimate of capital costs suggests that an initial outlay of £607,400 is required to reconstruct the station and bring the station up to minimum safety standards, including installing lighting columns, a customer information system, CCTV surveillance etc. It is also assumed that renewals costs of £60,740 would be incurred 30 years after construction. The inclusion of operating costs of £50,000 per annum brings the Net Present Value (NPV) of the scheme to -£1.94 million in 2010 prices, with a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of -0.03, implying the scheme to restore passenger services represents very poor value for money. As seen in Appendix A, sensitivity tests around the level of optimism bias and potential use by commuting passengers from the East Quay fail to improve the BCR above poor value for money.
Table 1. NPV and BCR summary – central case
| Monetised costs and benefits | £m PV |
|---|---|
| Capital and renewals costs | 0.78 |
| Operational costs | 1.10 |
| Generated revenue | 0.00 |
| Present value of costs (PVC) | 1.88 |
| User benefits | -0.05 |
| Non-user benefits | -0.01 |
| Present value of benefits (PVB) | -0.06 |
| Net present value (NPV = PVB – PVC) | -1.94 |
| Benefit-cost ratio (BCR = PVB/PVC) | -0.03 |
The ‘Railways closures guidance’ sets out 5 key criteria which need to be addressed by the value for money appraisal to take full account of any non-monetised impacts when the BCR is lower than 1.5. The conclusions are summarised below.
Environmental
Environmental impacts are negligible, or slightly negative. New services are unlikely to have a substantial impact on biodiversity, water, landscape, townscape or noise. As the line is electrified and new services would not add significant train mileage, the air quality impact in Newhaven is zero and greenhouse gas impact minimal.
Safety
There is a minor safety risk were passenger services to Newhaven Marine to be reinstated as there is no easy access. Passengers would walk to the southbound platform of Newhaven Harbour station, cross the footbridge to access the northbound platform, and re-join the road down to Newhaven Marine.
Economy
Most potential economic impacts are incorporated into the NPV and BCR calculations, however there could be a few second-order impacts not quantified in these metrics. Restoring passenger services may lead to worsening journey times or reliability for passengers using the line to reach other stations, as constraints in the track layout could render the current twice hourly timetable to Seaford unfeasible (the line is single track from Newhaven Harbour to Seaford). This would be hard to quantify without extensive timetable modelling but it is likely that if a daily passenger service was operated to/from Newhaven Marine, when that service was operated that would be instead of a service to/from Seaford. Restoring passenger services to and from the station may also hinder the development of the rail freight facility, which could stunt the regeneration of Newhaven Port and the East Quay.
Accessibility
Due to the proximity of Newhaven Harbour station, and fact that the East Quay (the only area for which Newhaven Marine could offer any access advantage) is entirely made up of commercial and not residential property, it is unlikely that restoring passenger services would return access to the network to any non-car owning households.
Integration
Restoring passenger services from Newhaven Marine would likely restrict the volume of freight services that would be able to use the branch line, impacting the decision to reopen the line as a freight facility. This could potentially hinder the redevelopment of both the East Quay and the port of Newhaven as a whole, and prevent the Department and East Sussex County Council from achieving their strategic objectives and delivering the benefits of the NPAR scheme.
We conclude that the net beneficial impacts of restoring passenger services under these 5 criteria are insignificant, if not slightly negative. Closure of the station has been assessed as the option which offers best value for money. Given this value for money assessment, and the very low impact on users, the department has concluded that it should proceed with the closure of Newhaven Marine station.
What will happen next?
Following the consultation period, we will review the responses to the closure proposal and undertake such further analysis as might be necessary. We will produce a summary of the outcome of the consultation and publish this on the DfT website.
The outcome of the closure consultation will be shared with Network Rail. Should the outcome of the consultation process agree with Network Rail’s assessment, the Office of Rail and Road will then be required to ratify the proposal to ensure it satisfies the ‘Railways closures guidance’ before the closure can go ahead.
If you have questions about this consultation please contact:
Andrew Johnson
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London SW1P 4DR
Telephone 0300 330 3000
Annex A: summary of formal appraisal
Introduction and context
The appraisal describes the benefits and costs of 2 options:
- the ‘do-minimum’ case – maintaining the status quo of a daily service carrying no passengers into Newhaven Marine
- the ‘do-something’ case - conducting capital works necessary to restore the station to working order, and reinstating passenger rail services into the station. These capital works would include platform repair, restoring the canopy and installing CCTV, seating and toilets
A comparison of the costs and benefits of restoring the Newhaven Marine station, judged against the baseline of retaining the status quo, suggests the scheme offers very low value for money.
Formal appraisal
Scheme objectives
The principle objective of the closure of Newhaven Marine station is to enable and encourage the regeneration of the port of Newhaven, and in particular the East Quay area. Restoring passenger services would offer no journey time advantages nor would it offer access to any locations not already served by Newhaven Harbour. Restoring services could also prevent the use of the branch line as an electrified turnback siding, as now, and for freight train access to Newhaven Port where a new dock and freight handling facility is due to open. Closure of Newhaven Marine would resolve the arrangement that has applied since 2006.
Station options
Retaining the status quo of a daily service carrying no passengers was considered as the ‘do minimum’ option, suggesting that if no intervention was made the station would remain open, but closed to passenger services. This was compared to the ‘do something’ which would mean restoring the station to working order and running a daily return passenger working from Brighton to Newhaven Marine.
Costs and benefits
This section uses the Department for Transport’s (DfT) transport analysis guidance, WebTAG to conduct an economic appraisal of the costs and benefits of restoring passenger services to Newhaven Marine station. WebTAG guidance is available on GOV.UK.
Outputs from the appraisal for Newhaven Marine, namely an assessment of the net present value (NPV) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of the scheme, will inform a conclusion based on the department’s value for money categories (see table 2). The scheme was appraised over a 60-year period, with the opening year assumed to be 2019. The initial capital cost of rebuilding the station is estimated to be £607,400, a breakdown of which is available in table 3. Renewals costs of £60,740 are assumed to incur 30 years after the station is constructed, and estimated operational costs are £50,000 per annum.
Both the initial capital cost and recurring operating costs are rebased to 2010 prices, discounted and adjusted to market prices. The scheme is appraised using standard appraisal assumptions: Benefits and costs are indexed to 2010 prices using the GDP deflator, discounted at 3.5% for the first 30 years after the year of appraisal and 3% thereafter, Optimism bias uplift is 64% of the NPV of capital costs and the market price adjustment is 19%. Optimism bias is applied to capital expenditure as per WebTAG best practise. DfT estimates of operating and capital expenditure gives a total present value of costs of £1.88 million, representing the discounted cost to the department over the life of the asset.
Table 2. Value for money categories (before inclusion of non-monetised impacts)
| VfM Category | Implied by |
|---|---|
| Very High | BCR greater than or equal to 4 |
| High | BCR between 2 and 4 |
| Medium | BCR between 1.5 and 2 |
| Low | BCR between 1 and 1.5 |
| Poor | BCR between 0 and 1 |
| Very Poor | BCR less than or equal to 0 |
Newhaven Marine station does not serve any potential trip origins or destinations that would not otherwise be better served by Newhaven Harbour station, and the assumption has been made that Newhaven Marine would have the same fares structure as Newhaven Town and Newhaven Harbour. Hence there would be no additional passenger journeys generated, and no increased revenue returned to the government as a result of reopening. It is possible that some additional passengers would travel to Newhaven Marine following reopening just for the novelty, but those journeys would be marginal, and all other journeys would likely be abstracted from journeys that would otherwise have gone to/from Newhaven Town or Harbour.
Appraised benefits are typically separated into user benefits (monetised journey time savings, monetised performance or reliability benefits) and non-user benefits (monetised journey time savings for road users and reductions in emissions and noise as road users switch to rail meaning roads becomes less congested).
Increased revenue generated by additional journeys is netted off the cost to government, so does not show up in the present value of benefits.
Because Newhaven Marine station is only accessible via the footbridge at Newhaven Harbour station and we assume no passenger rail services would call at Newhaven Marine station that would not call at Newhaven Harbour station, it is expected that there will be no journey time benefits, and no resulting modal shift from road users.
Additionally, it is assumed that there are disbenefits to users and to non-users of the existing rail network, worth £60,740 and £15,185 respectively, which are incurred as a result of reconstruction of the new station.
Table 3. Breakdown of capital costs for restoring passenger rail services at Newhaven Marine station
| Task | Cost |
|---|---|
| Platform repair/reconstruction | £200,000 |
| Toilets | £50,000 |
| Platform canopy | £40,000 |
| Lighting | £50,000 |
| Ticket vending machine | £6,000 |
| Closed-circuit TV | £40,000 |
| Customer information system | £50,000 |
| Waiting shelter | £10,000 |
| Seating | £1,400 |
| Fencing | £50,000 |
| Project management etc | £60,000 |
| Contingency | £50,000 |
| Total | £607,400 |
For clarity, it is possible that some passengers do use the Newhaven Marine station to board services, but as the station offers no access advantage or journey time savings these journeys would primarily be journeys otherwise taken from Newhaven Harbour station, thus offering no additional benefit to passengers over the do-minimum.
The summary in table 4 suggests that there are no monetised benefits from restoring passenger rail services to Newhaven Marine, leading to a net present value of -£1.88 million and a benefit-cost ratio of -0.03. These metrics imply that the proposal would deliver very poor value for money.
Table 4. Appraisal summary – central case
| Monetised costs and benefits | £m PV |
|---|---|
| Initial capital costs | 0.78 |
| Operational costs | 1.10 |
| Generated revenue | 0.00 |
| Present value of costs (PVC) | 1.88 |
| User benefits | -0.05 |
| Non-user benefits | -0.01 |
| Present value of benefits (PVB) | -0.06 |
| Net present value (NPV = PVB – PVC) | -1.94 |
| Benefit-cost ratio (BCR = PVB/PVC) | -0.03 |
Sensitivity tests
Optimism bias is the systematic tendency for scheme developers and appraisers to under-estimate the true costs of a given infrastructure project. Typically, optimism bias is reflected in appraisals using a standard percentage uplift depending on how far progressed the project is, as specified in WebTAG. The central case appraisal uses a typical early stage uplift of 64% of capital cost NPV. However, given the relatively small scale of such a project and the lack of any bespoke construction, this may not be appropriate. As such, a sensitivity test is included with no optimism bias uplift. This sensitivity test leads to a fall in the NPV of the scheme but, since the scheme does not deliver any substantial benefits, the BCR still demonstrates very poor value for money.
Table 5. NPV and BCR summary – no optimism bias sensitivity
| Monetised costs and benefits | £m PV |
|---|---|
| Initial capital costs | 0.48 |
| Operational costs | 1.10 |
| Generated revenue | 0.00 |
| Present value of costs (PVC) | 1.58 |
| User benefits | -0.05 |
| Non-user benefits | -0.01 |
| Present value of benefits (PVB) | -0.06 |
| Net present value (NPV = PVB – PVC) | -1.64 |
| Benefit-cost ratio (BCR = PVB/PVC) | -0.04 |
Estimates of wider economic impacts in the Newhaven Port Access Road (NPAR) business case suggest that the scheme could create 456 new jobs across the port of Newhaven, with 216 of these in the East Quay, for which Newhaven Marine may offer slightly closer access to the rail network. Due to uncertainty around the robustness of this estimate, a sensitivity test has been performed which represents a best-case scenario.
The do-minimum in this sensitivity assumes that no passenger services run from Newhaven Marine, the wider economic benefits identified in the NPAR appraisal are realised and all 216 new employees commute to the East Quay via Newhaven Harbour station. In the do-something case all these new employees make use of the reopened Newhaven Marine station, and it is assumed that access to the East Quay is opened south of Newhaven Marine, yielding a generalised journey time saving of 3 minutes per journey from using Newhaven Marine instead of Newhaven Harbour: It is assumed that total walking time from Newhaven Harbour to the centre of the East Quay is 5 and a half minutes, while the equivalent journey from Newhaven Marine is 3 minutes. Applying the WebTAG 2 times weighting for walking time and adding 2 minutes of in-train time to the Newhaven Marine journey time yields a generalised journey time saving of 3 minutes. There are no additional non-user benefits or revenue transfer, as the net number of passengers is the same in the do-something as the do-minimum, and Newhaven Marine is assumed to have the same fares structure as Newhaven Harbour.
The results of this sensitivity are presented in table 6, generating an NPV of -£0.30 million and a BCR of 0.84, which implies poor value for money. It is worth noting that while the sensitivity assumes that 100% of generated jobs in the East Quay make use of Newhaven Marine station to travel to work, on average, as set out in Table TSGB0109, Transport Statistics Great Britain 2017, only 4% of jobs in the South East outside of London are commuted to via rail, so this sensitivity test represents a very optimistic scenario.
Table 6. NPV and BCR summary – East Quay sensitivity
| Monetised costs and benefits | £m PV |
|---|---|
| Initial capital costs | 0.78 |
| Operational costs | 1.10 |
| Generated revenue | 0.00 |
| Present value of costs (PVC) | 1.88 |
| User benefits | 1.60 |
| Non-user benefits | -0.01 |
| Present value of benefits (PVB) | 1.59 |
| Net present value (NPV = PVB – PVC) | -0.30 |
| Benefit-cost ratio (BCR = PVB/PVC) | 0.84 |
Appraisal results
The ‘Railways closures guidance’ sets out 5 key criteria which need to be addressed by the value for money appraisal to take full account of any non-monetised impacts when the BCR is lower than 1.5. We conclude that the net beneficial impacts of restoring passenger services under these 5 criteria are insignificant, if not slightly negative. Closure of the station has been assessed as the option which offers best value for money. Given this value for money assessment, and the very low impact on users, the department has concluded that it should proceed with the closure of Newhaven Marine station. This conclusion is based on the assessment summarised below.
Environmental
Based on the following assessment, environmental impacts are negligible:
- noise – services would operate at low speed approximately 180 metres from the closest local housing so changes in traction noise would be negligible
- air quality – the line is electrified so there would be no air quality impacts in Newhaven
- greenhouse gases – the line is electrified so a very slight adverse impact is possible depending on the generating mix of fuels and the change in train vehicle use
- landscape – no impact
- townscape – no impact
- historic environment – no impact
- biodiversity – the new station building would be built on an existing brownfield site, and services run on existing infrastructure so it is unlikely that there will be any negative impact on biodiversity
- water environment – restoring passenger services is unlikely to have any additional impact on top of the pre-existing services between Newhaven Harbour and Seaford, which run very close to Mill Creek
Safety
There is a minor safety risk were passenger services to Newhaven Marine to be reinstated as there is no easy access. Passengers would walk to the southbound platform of Newhaven Harbour station, cross the footbridge to access the northbound platform, and re-join the road down to Newhaven Marine.
Economy
The majority of the economic impacts of reinstating passenger services from Newhaven Marine are incorporated into the economic appraisal and resulting metrics; the BCR of -0.03 and NPV of -£1.94. There may however be a few second order impacts not quantified in these metrics:
- restoring passenger services may lead to worsening journey times or reliability for passengers using the line to reach other stations, as constraints in the track layout may render the current timetable unfeasible. This would be hard to quantify without extensive timetable modelling
- restoring passenger services could hinder the development of a rail freight facility using the branch line, which could stunt the regeneration of Newhaven Port and the East Quay
Accessibility
The station closures guidance suggests that accessibility should be judged on the number of non-car owning households within 800 metres of the station who would likely see a reduction in public transport access following closure of the station. Newhaven Harbour lies just 180 metres to the north of Newhaven Marine, meaning the only likely affected area would be the East Quay site, which is made up of entirely commercial and not residential property, and not currently accessible from Newhaven Marine. As such it is very unlikely that any households would see improved access to the network following restoration of passenger services from Newhaven Marine.
Integration
As mentioned in the accessibility section, the regeneration of Newhaven is a priority both for the department and for East Sussex County Council. Redevelopment of the port of Newhaven, and in particular the East Quay, would, as set out in the NPAR, facilitate the expansion of environmental technology and advanced engineering in the medium term, and manufacturing in the short term.
East Sussex County Council have identified potential to move to higher value and higher density employment opportunities in Newhaven, making use of large brownfield sites in and around the port.
Newhaven also hosts the ferry service to Dieppe which, following the decline in passenger traffic, is primarily used by freight traffic at present. Expansion and regeneration of the Newhaven enterprise zone could be accompanied by an increase in freight traffic to and from the port. Were Newhaven Marine station to be closed, the line would remain as an electrified turnback siding and provide access to a new freight facility within the port. Restoring passenger services into the station could hinder development of the port, restrict the use of a low-carbon alternative to road freight in and out of the East Quay, and prevent the department and East Sussex County Council from achieving their strategic objectives and delivering the benefits of the NPAR scheme.
Annex B: list of those consulted
The following stakeholders have been sent a copy of this consultation document and invited to respond:
British Transport Police
Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership
DB Cargo Ltd
DFDS
Direct Rail Services Limited
Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee
East Sussex County Council
Freightliner Ltd
GB Railfreight Ltd
Govia Thameslink Railway
Lewes District Council
Maria Caulfield MP (Lewes)
Network Rail
Newhaven, Lewes & District Mencap
Newhaven Port Authority
Newhaven Town Council
Office of Rail & Road
Possability People
Rail Delivery Group
Rail Freight Group
Railfuture
Transport Focus
Annex C: Proposal by operator to close Newhaven Marine station
Network Rail has notified the Department for Transport that it proposes to close Newhaven Marine station.
Under section 29(7)(a) of the Railways Act 2005, the Secretary of State, as the relevant railway funding authority, is required to carry out a consultation concerning any proposal to discontinue the use of a station.
This notice is made in compliance with the statutory requirements in Schedule 7 to the Railways Act 2005 and relates to the closure of the following station:
- Newhaven Marine station, which is located on a short branch immediately south of Newhaven Harbour station
Following the Railways closures guidance 2006, Network Rail, as network operator, has carried out an initial assessment of whether retaining the existing station as part of the national rail network represents value for money. Network Rail concluded that closing Newhaven Marine station and keeping the track as a siding for berthing trains, as now, but also for freight train access to Newhaven Port where a new dock and freight handling facility is due to open, offered better value for money. It is proposed that, subject to successful completion of the closure process, the station will be closed, on or after 26 September 2020.
Anyone wishing to see Network Rail’s initial assessment, and a summary of it, may view the consultation document on GOV.UK.
The consultation document may also be inspected at the Department for Transport’s offices at Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR. Alternatively, copies can be obtained from Andrew Johnson at the same address or by email from newhavenmarine.consultation@dft.gov.uk. Copies will be provided free of charge.
Representations about the proposal should be sent to: newhavenmarine.consultation@dft.gov.uk or
Newhaven Marine Station Consultation
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London, SW1P 4DR
no later than 19 April 2020.
Consultation principles
The consultation is being conducted in line with the government’s key consultation principles which are listed below. Further information is available on GOV.UK.
If you have any comments about the consultation process please contact:
Consultation Co-ordinator
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
London SW1P 4DR
Email consultation@dft.gov.uk