We have submitted this Notice of Motion today because we are absolutely blown away and delighted by the work of members of the Volk’s Electric Railway Association in proposing next steps for the rejuvenation of Volk’s Railway beside Madeira Drive on the Kemp Town seafront.

The railway is one of the city’s most loved tourist attractions but it’s suffering from a handful of easily-remedied ailments – some expensive, some cheap – but all within a package that could deliver overall payback of investment within six years. Some elements would be much quicker though. I would guess that improved signage would be paid back within weeks.

The purpose of the Notice of Motion isn’t to wrangle over exact sums of money – that will likely be for Policy & Resources Committee and potentially even Budget Council. The purpose is to highlight the problems, champion the work, and set the ball rolling on looking at what the possibilities might be.

The issues divide into five areas which are each detailed in the Association’s report. They are bad signage (especially by the Palace Pier), a missing second platform, the lack of a fully accessible railcar, the lack of the most basic of shelters at Halfway Station, and a curious final destination at the east end of the line.

The solutions are fairly straightforward – install decent signage, let the Association get on with the second platform, investigate the purchase of a new railcar, buy a basic shelter, and extend the line up to the Marina.

There are always reasons to say ‘no’ but the principles here are sound. We need to do everything in our power to support the improvement of Madeira Drive. This project would send out exactly the right message in that regard.

I hope that all Councillors will be giving their support today for an Officer report.

Thank you.

Speech from Councillor Robert Nemeth to the Tourism, Equalities, Communites and Culture Committee, 19 November 2020.