Chancellor pledges support for bid to extend Robin Hood line

Chancellor George Osborne has backed a project which would bring rail travel to Ollerton and Edwinstowe.

The Conservative parliamentary candidate for Sherwood, Mr Mark Spencer, has been assured by the chancellor that he would support a passenger service on the disused part of the Robin Hood Line.

A passenger service runs on the line from Nottingham to Shirebrook, where the line splits, with no passenger services beyond Shirebrook to Tuxford.

Mr Spencer has been campaigning for this part of the line to be opened up to passenger services which he says could stop at Edwinstowe, Ollerton and Tuxford.

The chancellor told Mr Spencer he would back a bid for money from the Government's growth fund, which would have to be supported by local councils.

That message was reinforced in an announcement by the chancellor on Monday that he would spend £5.2bn in better transport across the East Midlands, which included extending the Robin Hood Line to Ollerton and Edwinstowe, if the Conservative Party was re-elected.

"It would have enormous benefits for all people who want to live and work in Edwinstowe and Ollerton," said Mr Spencer.

"It means they can then get to Sheffield, Nottingham, to Mansfield, and once you've got access to that rail network, you can go anywhere in the country.

"It makes the commute to work much easier."

Mr Spencer said the assurance had come about because he had been a "pain in the backside" for the chancellor. He added that Newark and Sherwood District Council had backed the project but he would also have to get backing from Nottinghamshire County Council.

"We're properly going in the right direction now and I'm very hopeful that as we electrify lines elsewhere, and that diesel, rolling stock and trains become available, we'll be able to get this project finally on track," he said.

Former Chief Whip Michael Gove said: "It's a Conservative priority, and if people want to ensure that happens, voting Conservative and making sure that Mark is there to continue to be a pain to the chancellor, that he has been so brilliantly, is the best way of doing that."