This issue contains updates on:

1. Railway engineers repair the landslip at Lingfield and get services back on track
2. Solar energy powering ahead at our stations
3. Next phase of car park payment changes gets underway
4. Points mean prizes as you travel on our trains
5. Reminder of upcoming engineering works

However, clay is very effective at absorbing water and drains poorly, making it an unsuitable material to build railways on. Unfortunately, this was not well understood when the line was constructed in 1884.

So, after becoming saturated following days of heavy rain and a very wet winter, a 10-metre stretch of the seven-metre-high embankment just north of Lingfield Station gave way on 17 January, with cracks in the earth spreading six metres either side.

To ensure the safety of everyone involved, this forced the line between East Grinstead and Hurst Green to close whilst Network Rail carried out emergency repairs, with alternative ticket acceptance and replacement bus services in place to support affected passengers.

Engineers installed a steel wall, made of 44, 10-metre-long steel piles, which has stabilised the embankment to prevent further slippage, and have put down 28 tonnes of fresh ballast, the stone that supports the track.

They then ran a high-tech tamper train over the line which used vibrating tines to compact the ballast and made sure the newly laid track was properly aligned.

Finally, engineers then relayed the high voltage power and signalling cables which had become displaced when their protective concrete troughs fell away as the embankment slipped.

The repairs went well and the line was able to reopen to passengers on 24 January, a day earlier than expected.

We are grateful for the patience of our passengers over this period and are sorry for the disruption they experienced whilst the line was made safe.

In 2021, over 500 solar panels were installed on Streatham Hill Depot’s roof as part of a co-operative energy project with a community climate action group and, in the first ‘carbon positive’ upgrade on the rail network, a new type of photovoltaic film was fitted to the new roof of Denmark Hill Station.

These solar panels help to reduce our carbon footprint and put excess energy back into the country’s electricity grid.

In 2022 alone, the solar arrays at Denmark Hill station and the Streatham Hill depot generated 236,387 kWh of energy. This is the equivalent of boiling the kettle to make a 7.5 million cups of tea! The energy generated also saved 46 tonnes of CO2.

It is also estimated that Blackfriars Station alone produced 900,000 kWh energy last year thanks to the 6,000m2 of solar panels on the station’s roof. These panels help to cut CO2 emissions by 513 tonnes per year, equivalent to 89,000 car journeys.

Traveling by rail is a sustainable option and we want to ensure that our commitment to decarbonisation and sustainability is clear to see.

We are pleased with the results of our solar power projects to date and hope this will be the start of much more.

We let you know about Phase One of the programme in our October edition of In Touch which removed Pay & Display machines at non-automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) stations.

Following a successful first phase, the next stage is now underway which will remove Pay & Display machines from our remaining station car parks where ANPR is in place, and this is expected to be complete by mid-February.

Car Park users will be able to pay using one of the alternative methods provided by APCOA – online, by app, and by calling 01895 262122. There is no change for Blue Badge holders.

As with the first stage, we want this change to go as smoothly as possible for passengers and we will focus on helping people to make the switch.

Customers will receive three points for every £1 spent on Anytime, Season tickets, including Flexi season ticket, and Advance Anytime tickets bought directly via the Southern Railways website, using an eTicket or a Key Smartcard.

To encourage more people to travel on Mondays and Fridays, we are also trialling Advance tickets on peak time Southern trains on select services to and from the south coast – from stations between Eastbourne and Chichester up as far as Three Bridges into London Victoria.

This will help people save up to 15% compared to the price of a standard peak fare Anytime Day Return ticket, and help them build up more points at the same time!

Once people have collected their points, they can be used towards a range of rewards from free coffees to days out, cinema tickets or a case of wine.

Customers can also enter competitions to win holiday breaks as well, such as a weekend stay in London with first class train travel, spending money and dinner included.

The scheme launched on 9 January and will run until 5 March, with the ambition to extend the scheme more widely across the Govia Thameslink network if successful.

You will also be able to find out more information on the Next Level Rewards scheme at www.southernrailway.com/rewards.

On Sunday 5 February, because of Network Rail engineering work, all lines between Gatwick and East Croydon will be closed, so we are advising passengers seeking to travel between London, Gatwick Airport and Sussex on this date to check online journey planners in advance, and to allow extra time.

We will be operating a special diverted train service between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport which will run via Horsham and Three Bridges, with an end-to-end journey time of around 80 minutes. This is the service that we are encouraging anyone travelling between London and the Airport to use to avoid the need to change onto replacement buses for part of their journey.

Trains that usually run between stations on the East and West Coastways and London will start/terminate at Three Bridges, and there will be a reduced train service between Brighton and Gatwick Airport.

Replacement buses will run between Three Bridges and East Grinstead for onward train connections to East Croydon and London Victoria. There will also be a bus service running between Gatwick Airport and East Croydon calling at all stations via Redhill. Buses will also run between Purley and Tattenham Corner.

The week after, on Sunday 12 February, the lines between Three Bridges and Brighton and Three Bridges and Lewes will be closed. There will be diversionary trains from Three Bridges to Brighton travelling via the Arun Valley line, and replacement buses for stations between Three Bridges and Brighton or Lewes.

Journeys will take considerably longer than normal and people planning to travel should check their journeys in advance and allow plenty of additional time.

Customers can find the full details on which services will be impacted and alternative travel options here: www.southernrailway.com/travel-information/plan-your-journey/planned-engineering-work

Chief executive’s bulletin

3 February 2023

Mumsnet support to Make A Change campaign 

Did you know that over 6,000 local councils have elections this year in 34 of our county association areas? That’s why with 4 May fast approaching, we’re trying to work with as many organisations as we can to support our Make A Change campaign and encourage more people to stand as local councillors. This week our campaigns intern, Fflur Jones, met up with colleagues from Mumsnet to discuss how they might be able to help, especially as their Women and mums in politics campaign shares many of our own aims. Mumsnet is the UK’s biggest network for parents, with around 7 million unique visitors per month clocking up around 100 million page views. I’m delighted they have agreed to promote the campaign and share information on their website to highlight some of the inspiring work that women and mum councillors are doing for their communities. We’re also planning a guest blog post and live webchat.

Updated guidance on the pre-election period 

The Local Government Association has updated its guidance on publicity during the pre-election period for the local elections on 4 May. Our updated briefing L01-23 contains a link to the guidance and can be found in the member’s area of the NALC website in the briefings section under council business, law and procedure (login required).

Special meeting of NALC Policy Committee about planning changes 

A special meeting of NALC’s Policy Committee took place on 3 February to develop NALC’s response to the government’s consultation on updating the National Planning Policy Framework. We were pleased to be joined by officials from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities who gave an overview of the proposals and took questions, and by Owen Edwards from the Better Planning Coalition – which NALC has recently joined – to discuss the Coalition’s views and emerging response. The committee agreed to push for the strengthening of neighbourhood planning, to argue for the immediate removal of neighbourhood management development policies and for the strengthening of local beauty through design codes.

Defra roundtable on rural access 

It was good that NALC was invited to take part in a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) ministerial roundtable on rural access this week. The chair of NALC’s Policy Committee, Cllr David Francis from the Northumberland Association of Local Councils, joined an online meeting hosted by Trudy Harrison MP, the minister responsible for rights of way and access to nature, to discuss promoting interconnectivity and access to nature amongst rural communities. Attendees shared views on what more can be done to create and promote active travel links between rural communities and improve their access to their surrounding countryside. David took the opportunity to stress that many local councils are already promoting and developing active travel, often as part of the climate change agenda and through neighbourhood planning, that they are a resource that should not be overlooked, but that wider support including new powers was needed. We have followed up the meeting to seek further direct engagement with Defra on this issue. And do let us know at policycomms@nalc.gov.uk if you have examples of your work, challenges and barriers you face, and ideas for how to overcome them, that we can use in our engagement with Defra.

NALC’s chair in Parliament 

In his recent open letter, NALC’s chair, Cllr Keith Stevens, stressed how “it remains vital that we all act as advocates for parish power and the good we can do, especially to Members of Parliament, principal authorities, and other agencies”. Keith was doing just this in Parliament this week where he met with Baroness Hayman of Ullcock, shadow spokesperson for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government about the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, and then separately with Clive Betts MP, chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee. Common issues covered included ensuring the role of local councils was better understood and not overlooked, remote meetings, stronger sanctions in the standards regime, and the creation of new local councils.

On the blog: Internal Audit Forum

This week we were pleased to announce our new partnership with the Internal Audit Forum and on the NALC blog Eleanor Greene discusses the new partnership and explains how this will help provide resources and support for internal auditors.

NALC National Network: Women councillors

Mandatory training for councillors was among the key issues considered by NALC’s National Network: Women councillors on 31 January. The discussion was part of the Policy Committee’s work to review our policy by gathering views from across some of our committees and networks. There was a strong view that training should be undertaken by all councillors and concerns were raised about cost especially for smaller councils. Civility and respect was another topic discussed where the lack of stronger sanctions for those who engage in poor behaviour was highlighted along with support currently available to councillors. The network agreed to develop some proposed solutions to address these issues for consideration at a future meeting. The next meeting is on 10 May.

International Women’s Day on 8 March 

International Women’s Day is coming up on 8 March 2023 and both NALC and the women councillor’s network are keen to celebrate the amazing achievements of women in the local council sector. NALC is creating a group video and can I urge as many women colleagues as possible to get involved! The deadline for video submissions is 28 February and further information including instructions and how to submit your video can be found here.

Changes to VAT on sports fees 

Due to a recent legal case, there are potential changes to how sports fees are treated in relation to VAT. A briefing note from The Parkinson Partnership LLP is now available in the members area of the NALC website in the briefings section under finance and audit (login required). HMRC have not yet issued any further guidance, but we will provide an update when official guidance becomes available. If local councils require further advice on this issue, they should contact their county association.

2023/24 Trades Union pay claim 

We have been advised by the Local Government Association that the Trades Unions representing local government services have submitted their 2023/24 pay claim this week. The main element of the claim is RPI plus 2%, a likely total of 12.7%. The employer’s side of the National Joint Council (on which NALC is not currently represented) representing principal councils will be meeting and holding briefings in February. Clearly, this is a significant claim which will be the subject of intense negotiations and I would stress has not been agreed. We will keep you informed as the negotiations progress.

Report on the role of leadership in standards in public life 

Public sector leaders need to keep talking about standards writes Lord Jonathan Evans, chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life in his excellent blog about the new Leading in Practice: A review by the Committee on Standards in Public Life report which looks at how a variety of organisations have sought to integrate ethical values into their policies and ways of working. The report covers values and the public sector, communicating expected behaviours and leading by example, encouraging a ‘speak up’ culture, training, discussion and decision making, governance, and recruitment and performance management.

Information exchange on devolution deals 

Several county officer colleagues came together this week at an online meeting which we hosted to help them share information, experiences and learning on devolution deals in their areas. Issues highlighted included the government’s approach to devolution as set out in the white paper, the level of engagement with the county association, and the impact on current and future relations with principal councils. It was agreed to hold a further get together in a few months’ time.

Special meeting of National Assembly 

Our National Assembly comprising representatives from the 43 county associations of local councils met this week and received an update from me on the future use of our office at 109 Great Russell Street in London. They agreed a resolution confirming the delegation of any future sale to Management Board. I will keep you informed of any future developments.

In/out and abouts 

As part of its member benefits to local councils, the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Association of Local Councils offers free members training on a wide variety of topics throughout January. I was grateful for the opportunity to join one of their sessions this week to discuss the top ten challenges facing the sector. We also had a wide-ranging debate including on how to engage effectively with principal councils, MPs and other local stakeholders including encouraging them to attend events and meetings and sharing reports with them.

And finally… 

It’s been another good week for local councils winning awards, this time at the ‘oscars’ for markets and toilets. Sevenoaks Town Council in Kent were awarded with Platinum Loo of the Year Awards and moved up from ninth place to fifth in the nationwide local authority league table. And among the winners and highly commended at The Great British Market Awards 2023, run by the National Association of British Market Authorities, were Oswestry Town Council and Shrewsbury Town Council in Shropshire, and South Molton Town Council in Devon. Congratulations and well done!