Disintegrated & disenfranchised

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 21st Apr 2004

hris Maines (Leader of the opposition on Bromley Council) and Duncan Borrowman (LIberal Democrat Greater London Assembly candidate for Bexley & Bromley) present Karl McCartney of the Strategic Rail Authority with their objections to the SRA's plans in Bromley Borough

Liberal Democrats in the London Borough of Bromley have submitted their objections to the Strategic Rail Authority's "Integrated Kent Franchise" consultation document with their own submission "Disintegrated & disenfranchised". In addition Liberal Democrat London Assembly Candidate Duncan Borrowman and Lib Dem Leader of the opposition on Bromley Council, Chris Maines, have submitted a 1065 name petition against the plans for Chelsfield Station and 295 completed passenger surveys from Chelsfield. They have also presented the first 122 names of a petition of passengers on the Mid Kent line to Hayes gathered on the local Lib Dem website.

Duncan Borrowman said: "Our message is clear, the proposals are wrong and they won't work. The Strategic Rail Authority needs to go back to the drawing board with its plans. They then need to reopen the consultation process, and this time they need to understand that the 'stakeholders' are not faceless council officers but the travelling public. The public need to know what any planned changes are with signs at railway stations clearly setting out the planned changes in plain English, and they need to be actively involved in the consultation process."