THE Whitehill & Bordon Community Party says it has started a fight for a rail-link bus and set out a long-term commitment to getting “a proper train station” in the town.

While public transport is a contentious issue for many Whitehill and Bordon residents, calling for a rail service is often seen as a lost cause.

“We’ve had the battle; sadly we didn’t win,” said Conservative county, district and town councillor Adam Carew. “It’s very regrettable.”

Hampshire County Council has, over the years, reiterated that a rail link in Bordon remains highly unlikely. The council said it followed the prescribed process for evaluating the possibility.

“These studies have variously shown a relatively poor cost benefit for both heavy rail services and an ultra-light rail alternative,” the county council added.

“Studies which took place between 2010 and 2012 were undertaken as part of exploratory work, supporting the designation of the eco-town, but the outcome showed that the benefits delivered, relative to the costs involved, were significantly under the levels required to justify further work on the project.”

And now a new road is under construction along the old railway route. But what about a bus link?

This week the Whitehill & Bordon Community Party, a new political group, asked why a rail-link bus from Bordon to Liphook was “excluded” from the new South West Trains network franchise agreement and if this was a missed opportunity for the town.

Earlier this year, the Department for Transport announced that the South West Trains franchise contract would be handed over to FirstGroup, which has offices in Portsmouth and Southampton, and Hong Kong-based firm MTR. This means that from August 20, Stagecoach will no longer be behind the wheel of South West Trains.

The Community Party said that South West Trains had been able to axe the rail-link bus service between Whitehill and Bordon and Liphook in 2009 “due to it not being a mandatory part of the franchise agreement”.

The Community Party is led by Andy Tree, a former town-council leader. While he is not in office, three town councillors (including Roger Russell) have joined his group, making it in effect the opposition to the 10 Conservative councillors.

Mr Tree said: “With fierce biding between Stagecoach and First/MTR, why was a rail-link bus requirement not inserted back into the franchise agreement, if both companies were so keen to do what was required to win the bid?

“Has a great opportunity been missed by those who have power over Whitehill and Bordon?

“I previously asked Hampshire County Council why the ‘eco bus’ that drives around Whitehill and Bordon could not have connected up with Liphook station as a rail-link bus, but was told that a subsidised bus was not allowed to compete with commercial services such as numbers 13 and 18. But surely the bus companies and the county council could’ve got their heads together, possibly with South West Trains, to come up with a viable solution?

“This month I have written to the county council, district council, town council and Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company to ask what (if any) representations were made to the Government/relevant bodies to try and put the rail-link bus into the new franchise agreement? No response has been received from any of them as of yet. But Lindford parish councillors have responded to voice their support, as the villages between Bordon and Liphook would all benefit from it.

“It would appear that yet again, the people of Whitehill and Bordon have been overlooked at a time when we are being assured of future prosperity with the new development. Instead all the great investment promised by First/MTR, as they take over running the trains, will benefit all the other towns and villages in East Hampshire that have train stations such as Alton, Petersfield, Liphook, Liss and Bentley.

“Roger Russell has written to the town clerk to ask for the council to discuss and vote on engaging with the other councils and organisations with a view to securing a 10-year commitment to run a rail-link bus.”