Thousands more homes could be built within 10 minutes of transport hubs, including on green belt sites, under a loosening of planning policy announced by Angela Rayner on Monday.

The housing secretary will set out changes to national planning guidance for England that will include an order for councils to have a “default yes” approach to housing developments that are within a reasonable walking distance of well-connected train and tram stations.

If a proposed development is on green belt land, then the government’s “golden rules” state that they must have higher levels of affordable housing, new or improved green spaces, and be supported by the right infrastructure.

The approach was put out to consultation under Rayner’s predecessor, Steve Reed, but the guidance will be confirmed as part of the new national planning policy framework (NPPF) this week.

[snip]

The new NPPF is aimed at providing clearer national policies for plan-making and decision-making, meaning that conflicting local policies will carry less weight when they are inconsistent with national policies.

Other changes will include:
* Stronger support in principle for development, meaning a more explicit presumption in favour of building in sustainable locations.
* Pubs will get protection from being turned into housing or offices with developers having to prove there is no reasonable prospect of keeping a pub as a going concern, including evidence that it was marketed for sale for at least a year.
* A requirement for at least 40% of homes to be accessible on bigger developments and stronger protections for community facilities.
* Stronger support for growth and infrastructure including support for AI growth zones and datacentres.

07:13 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 09:43 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

A heritage railway service has paused its steam engine trips after two fires, one of which was "most likely" caused by a passing train.

Two blazes broke out on Thursday - the UK's hottest day of the year so far - near Normanhurst Park in Darley Dale at 16:21 BST, and near Church Road in Derbyshire.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said the first fire spanned a grassland area of roughly 100m by five metres, while the second fire - involving vegetation at the side of railway track - was found to have likely been caused by sparks from the passing train.

Peak Rail, which run services on the Midland Railway line, said the withdrawal of steam-hauled trains would continue "until further notice".

American Airlines to bring back TV screens on US flights

American Airlines wants its flyers to have screens – and not just the ones its passengers bring on board with them.

The carrier says it will restore seatback displays across its domestic fleet, reversing a years-long strategy of removing them from most US routes.

[snip]

Its move follows years of complaints from passengers, who said that relying on personal devices left them with drained batteries, awkward viewing angles, and patchy Wi-Fi.

It also comes as US carriers try to steady demand in a cooling market.

Easiest thing to do is make the Network Railcard valid across the whole network.  The network in Network Railcard has been redundant since 1997 anyway; it's most confusing to people aged 30-60 who are duped into buying one and then discover is not actually valid on the network.

Minister visits derailment site amid funding plea

The rail minister has visited the site of a derailment in East Sussex amid calls for more investment in transport in the South East.

Rail Minister Lord Hendy met Lewes MP James MacCleary and senior representatives from Network Rail, Greater Thameslink Railway, British Transport Police and contractors following the derailment near Lewes.

Twenty people were injured when three carriages on the 14:24 BST Southern service from London Victoria to Eastbourne left the tracks at Landport on Thursday.

MacCleary said while he could not pre-empt the investigation, concerns about infrastructure must be considered. Lord Hendy said regulators ensured Network Rail had enough money to maintain the railway.

[snip]

After meeting Lord Hendy, MacCleary said the South East had been overlooked "for too long" when it comes to transport investment.

"Despite repeated calls for greater support, the region has missed out in recent budget decisions," he said. "I hope this incident serves as a turning point."

Lord Hendy said funding was spread across the UK, adding: "I certainly don't think there's any cause to suppose that any particular part of the nation is disadvantaged by that."

[snip]

The RAIB is expected to give initial findings this week.

Not if used where they were meant for; Reading and the cascade of turbos west.

Ferguson shipyard to cut a quarter of its workforce


Image © Getty Images

Scotland's state-owned shipyard is to cut nearly a quarter of its total workforce while it waits for confirmation of promised new orders.

Workers at Ferguson Marine have been invited to apply for voluntary redundancy as construction draws to a close on the second of two long-delayed CalMac ferries.

The Port Glasgow firm currently employs 247 core staff, 31 agency staff and 32 apprentices - but says it expects to shed 70 posts through a voluntary redundancy process.

The Scottish government has promised to directly award the yard new orders for four smaller ships, but ministers say they are still conducting "due diligence" on the plan.

Ferguson Marine said the job losses would protect the long-term viability of the yard - but unions described the move as "a betrayal of a blameless workforce".

BBC Scotland News understands those who choose to leave the firm will receive £1,000 per completed year of service, up to £10,000.


The Ferguson shipyard faces a gap in orders despite promises of new work from the Scottish government

(BBC article continues)

Cancellations to services between Worcester Shrub Hill and Oxford

Due to a safety inspection of the track between Worcester Shrub Hill and Oxford the line towards London Paddington is blocked.

Train services running through these stations will be cancelled, delayed or diverted. Disruption is expected until 16:30 18/08.

Off at a tangent - I found myself reading up the history of railways at / to Newquay - starting off with a horse tramway and through to the opening for passengers in 1876.   What I failed to establish was the gauge history.  I know that in 1892 the Cornish mainline was converted finally over a weekend - but the branch(es) to Newquay?  Anyone?

Can't see how there's enough market (or capacity) to support Eurostar, Trenitalia and Virgin.

I wonder whether it's a front operation for DB, Renfe, or just an opportunistic play to get licenses and trains in play which can then be auctioned off to the highest bidder?