The Anonymous Widower

Devolution For Cornwall

This report on the BBC is entitled Cornwall devolution: First county with new powers.

It is not full devolution, but various powers have been given to the Council.

• Give Cornwall Council powers for franchising and improving local bus services
• Help Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly councils create a plan to bring health and social care services together
• Enable the council to choose what projects will see millions of pounds of investment
• Give the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) more input on boosting local skills
• Make it easier for the LEP to integrate national and local services to help local firms grow

I suspect we’ll see a lot more powers devolved to the Council.

There is no mention of rail services, which are detailed here in Wikipedia, although I suspect these are covered by the Council choosing where to invest.

I suspect though that a lot of improvement in rail services has already been covered. I detailed the improvements for both Devon and Cornwall in The Japanese Are Going To Invade Devon And Cornwall.

I also suspect that as the economy improves in the Far West, whoever is operating the express and sleeper services to London, will upgrade the services to match the demand. The new AT300 trains, that First Great Western have ordered could even be used between Cornwall and Birmingham.

Just as Crossrail is going to give London and the South East a massive kick up the ladder, the electrification and modernisation of the Great Western Main Line is going to do the same for England west of Reading, And of course South Wales!

I see a sunny future for Cornwall!

Which English county is going to be next in the queue for devolution?

July 16, 2015 - Posted by AnonW | Finance, Transport/Travel | Cornwall, First Great Western Trains, Politics, Trains