People of Derby are asked to back the Great British Railways Bid
Workers, businesses and residents across Derbyshire have been urged by Scott Knowles CE of East Midlands Chamber to get behind backing Derby’s bid to be the home of Great British Railways. The deadline on the vote is Monday 15th August 22. If you want to back Derby then go to the destination Derby website https://www.derbygbr.co.uk/
Following strong applications from 42 local authorities across Britain in the competition to find a location for the headquarters of GBR, the Department for Transport has announced that Birmingham, Derby, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Crewe, Doncaster and York are all on the shortlist
All applications to host were measured against 6 criteria:
- Connected and easy to get to
- Alignment to levelling up objectives
- Opportunities for GBR
- Railway Heritage
- Links to the Network
- Value for Money & public transport.
Scott Knowles CE of East Midlands Chamber said: “Derby and the rail industry go hand-in-hand, so it feels like the natural location for a national centre of our railways. Its 200-year legacy as the centre of UK rail remains highly relevant today as the home of the country’s largest train factory, where operator Alstom will soon build the next generation of high-speed trains in a joint venture with Hitachi Rail, alongside the many small businesses that make up the supply chain.
“Creating the Great British Railways headquarters in Derby would build on this expertise, further develop the skillsets from its industrial heritage and shine a spotlight on the city’s economic strengths.
“When combined with other exciting regional projects such as the East Midlands Freeport, this could help attract new investment from companies that may wish to be located near a national centre and create jobs for these skills to thrive – all relevant to the government’s levelling up agenda.
“All these benefits would not just be felt in Derby, but across the wider region too, so we call on the East Midlands public to get behind Derby’s bid to become the new home of Great British Railways by voting.”
