Restoration of Blackpool rail link still has government support

Plans to restore the Fleetwood to Poulton rail link remain on the table but have been delayed by the pandemic, a hustings panel has been told. Paul Maynard, who is fighting to hold onto his seat in the newly redrawn Blackpool North and Fleetwood constituency for the Conservatives, said the project became government policy in 2019.

After questions were asked about the project at a hustings event in Cleveleys, he said the initiative had been moving forward over the past five years “but infrastructure takes time”. However Mr Maynard said all the elements are now in place “to put spades in the ground”, and added without the Covid pandemic he believed work would have already started.

Other candidates standing in the constituency said their parties would also back the restoration of the rail link, which is due to be funded from money saved from the cancellation of HS2.

Other candidates in Blackpool North and Fleetwood are: Dan Barker (Reform UK); Lorraine Beavers (Labour); Jan Cresswell (Social Democratic Party); Gita Gordon (Independent); Bill Greene (Liberal Democrat), Tina Rothery (Green Party) and James Antony Rust (Official Monster Raving Loony)