Support

Support from local businesses

Local businesses frequently indicate their support for our campaign, while the present road congestion is turning away potential new employers from the town. Below are some messages of support received (in alphabetic order).

Beaufort Brokers

Capita Symonds

Charles Cooke & Co Solicitors

C J Freeman & Co

Crest-Nicholson (Residential)

DPS (Bristol) Limited

Gordano Gate Business Park Limited

Gordano School

Hydrex

Miles CMC

Portishead Chamber of Commerce

Portishead Parochial Church Council

Walnut Grove Clinic

Beaufort Brokers: Beaufort Brokers, who have an office in Portishead, fully support the reinstatement of the railway. Read full text PDF (101 Kb)

Capita Symonds: “Capita Symonds fully supports the re-opening of the Portishead to Bristol line. We have experience of this type of project having designed and managed the £35m reopening of the Ebbw Vale to Cardiff line. This was reopened to passenger use in 2008 having last carried passengers in 1962. As a local Portishead employer, Capita Symonds also recognises the necessity. Our staff have actively lobbied for us to support the scheme. We know that reopening the line is practical and would bring massive benefits to the town.”

Charles Cooke & Co Solicitors: The boutique corporate law firm Charles Cook & Co with offices in Bristol and Portishead fully support the reopening and say that their staff and clients would use the line daily to commute from Portishead to Bristol and back again. Read full text (PDF 135Kb)

C J Freeman & Co

“Freemans Television fully support the re opening on the railway link from Portishead to Bristol. The local traffic system is at breaking point, this would be easily relieved with the opening of this vital link to Bristol.”

Crest-Nicholson (Residential): “Portishead is a fast-growing town with so many benefits as a place to live and work. Bringing back a rail link could prove a major benefit for the increasing number of people who live and work in the area and improve the transport infrastructure. Crest-Nicholson (Residential) would support plans that improve the quality of life for Portishead people by providing them with a rail link.”

DPS (Bristol) Limited: “DPS (Bristol) Limited, an international process engineering company with its head office based in Portishead, fully endorses the need for a fully functioning rail transport link between Portishead and Bristol. Our staff and the local community have expressed their support of this scheme, many of whom have participated in a petition to Downing Street to reopen the line. The increased housing and escalating population of Portishead, combined with ever-increasing business enterprises and local development in the area are already significantly hampered by inadequate public transport links to the surrounding areas of Portbury, Pill, Avonmouth, Severn Beach, Bradley Stoke, Clevedon, Weston Super Mare, and of course Bristol. The reinstatement of the line is essential for the economic growth of this area, and its re-introduction would minimise the environmental impact that is caused by the inevitable carbon dioxide emissions expended in travelling to and from the town. DPS (Bristol) Limited is committed to reducing its impact on the environment as much as possible, and believes that adding its voice to those of other local employers to encourage the reopening of this line demonstrates a positive step in this direction.”

Gordano Gate Business Park Limited: “Gordano Gate Business Park Limited are carrying out a 23-acre development in the centre of Portishead. Plans for this further development have been in place for several years, but on-site development has been hampered and restricted for one primary reason – the absence of a rail link to Bristol. Positive steps need to be taken to procure adequate means of getting in and out of town for the considerable number of employees that the proposed development could attract.

Major investment into any local economy is never going to succeed without adequate transportation links, and medium-to-large scale employers will not consider relocating into a town where the one primary road access point is severely overloaded. A comparatively foot-loose employer of approximately 350 people has made it clear that if a rail link to Bristol existed, Portishead would be high on its shortlist of possible sites. That is just one of several potential occupiers who will end up elsewhere. “

Read full text. (PDF 67 Kb)

Gordano School

“Gordano School fully supports the re-opening of the Portishead to Bristol rail link. As a local Portishead employer of in excess of 200 staff, Gordano School recognises the necessity of solving the chronic transport problems in accessing the town. We know that re-opening the line is practical and would bring benefits both to the town and our school both from a staff and student access point of view, also for local parents many of whom work in Bristol.”

Hydrex

Hydrex fully support our campaign. Full text to follow.

MILES CMC

“MILES CMC fully supports the re-opening of the Portishead to Bristol rail link. As a local employer, Christopher Miles of MILES cmc recognises the urgency of solving the chronic transport problems in accessing and travelling out of the town, which has been referred to as the largest cul de sac in England! We know that re-opening the line is practical and would bring benefits both to the town and our business, both from a staff and client access perspective.

We would encourage the Portishead Railway Group to make every effort to advance this cause.”

Portishead Chamber of Commerce

“The Portishead Chamber of Commerce fully supports the re-opening of the Portishead to Bristol rail link.

As the local Portishead business organization we recognise the need to solve the chronic transport problems in accessing the town. We know that re-opening the line is practical and would bring benefits to the town’s business community.”

Tony Walmsley, President, Portishead Chamber of Commerce

Portishead Parochial Church Council: “Portishead Parochial Church Council wishes to express its support for the proposed railway from Portishead to Bristol. In seeking to be good stewards of creation we believe that the re-instatement of the railway will help reduce the environmental impact of travel between Portishead and Bristol and indeed destinations beyond.
Traffic congestion has a major impact on local peoples lives causing delays and added stress and the railway would offer a valuable alternative to road travel especially as the current road network is inadequate for the levels of traffic as Portishead continues to expand. The presence of a railway would also be an important alternative mode of public transport for those in our community without cars, in particular the younger and older members of our community.
Many of our members would prefer to use the railway instead of their cars and look forward to the railway returning to Portishead. Please let us know if there are any ways in which we can further help support and promote the cause of Portishead Railway Group.”

Walnut Grove Clinic.

“At Walnut Grove Clinic we fully support the opening of the Portishead to Bristol rail link.

Whilst is is unlikely that patients will come to our clinic just because of the railway the increase in population afforded by good rail links both residential and commercial can only help all of us in the business community locally.”

If you run a local business and support our campaign to reopen the Portishead to Bristol railway, please email us a short statement of support to feature on this page.

Thank you.