The Tors at Tavistock. Ref00554/2013. Bovis Homes were required to contribute a financial sum to the proposed railway line to Devon County Council. This was to reinstate the Tavistock to Plymouth rail line. This contribution was a condition of Bovis to build 750 homes in Tavistock. The railway line was being developed by Devon County Council.
In 2024 when the Labour Party got into power they either cancelled or ‘put on ice’ various projects, as they wanted to save money. The Tavistock to Plymouth line was one of the projects to get cancelled or ‘put on ice’.
Can you tell me please what is going to happen to this money that Bovis have given you and what will you do with it if the station is never built?
The terms of the section 106 for the rail contribution from the Callington Road development state it can be used for the reinstatement of the Railway Line or the implementation of the Public Transport System (or any purpose ancillary to or designed to assist or bring about such reinstatement including subsidising the cost of running the service of the Railway Line or the Public Transport System).
In the event that the project is abandoned, or funding to construct the project has not been secured or a contract let, or if it has not commenced within 5 years of receipt of the final rail contribution instalment, it can be used for highway improvements to relieve traffic congestion between Tavistock and Plymouth and for the provision of affordable dwellings up to 40% of the total number of dwellings in the development.
Prior to the decision to stop the Restoring Your Railway programme, the County Council had secured approval of the strategic outline business case for the railway reopening and was due to be awarded funding for the outline business case and design. The Government indicated that all projects would be subject to an internal review of the Department for Transport’s portfolio and we await the outcome of that process before making any further decisions.