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Mothballed tram plan for Fishergate due to be resumed

Posted on - 14th December, 2017 - 7:00am | Author - | Posted in - Business, Politics, Preston City Centre, Preston News, Transport
An artist’s impression of how the tram would look running down Fishergate

Proposals for trams to run down Fishergate are due to be put back in.

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Preston Trampower Ltd, who are in the process of laying a pilot line and station for trams in the city at Deepdale, say they are going to resubmit plans last seen in 2012.

Professor Lewis Lesley, one of the team behind the scheme, says the Guild line between Deepdale Street, the city centre and the railway station is to be looked at again.

He said: “We submitted and had validated the plans in 2012, for the Guild line.

“Many problems were encountered in getting planning permission for a depot, without which a tramway is not practical.

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“We have that permission and work is expected to start shortly to turn the plan [for the test line] into a reality.”

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Any proposal for trams through the city centre would need the backing of Lancashire County Council’s highways department.

The proposals in 2012 were shelved as the county council refused to back the scheme – and the shared space funding from the European Union had been secured for major changes to the layout of Fishergate.

In October the Trampower group took a bendybus down Fishergate to demonstrate what it said was the space in the street for a tramway.

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Fellow director of Preston trampower Lincoln Shields said: “The building time will be less than a year for the whole line, and along Fishergate the rails will be glued into the road and not need any large excavations. It would be good to get more encouragement for the project, which will deliver so many benefits for Preston, at no cost to the public purse.”

The proposal has already drawn a strong response from the leader of Preston City Council.

Lancashire County Council said they will not be commenting at this stage – as no application has been submitted.

What do you think about the trams plan? Let us know in the comments below

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