00:00 this is really exciting for us as a community. We've been pushing this for so long so to finally
00:04 have an application in is beyond words. So here we are, so we're over the dual carriageway on the A4018
00:10 heading towards Cribbs Causeway in North Bristol and we're on the Brentree side of it which I know
00:14 is ironic because it's called the Henbury station but over here we have the new Persimmon housing
00:18 development being built and the new train station is going to be here just by the tracks behind
00:23 Woolfridge Gardens. You can see a little bit of flooding so this is all going to be like sports
00:27 fields, housing going beyond it but the new station will be right down there and it connects along to
00:33 Filton North which will be where the new Brabhamson hangars are or Brabhamson arena is and then it goes
00:37 into Filton Abbey Wood into the new Ashley Down train station which is currently being built and
00:41 then into Temple Meads. So really rather exciting and I've got to say a shout out for those people
00:46 because we've been pushing this for decades. I mean I've only been 17 years, I'm a Johnny Cum
00:50 lately on this one. You've got groups like Federation of Suburban Bristol Rail, Fosborough,
00:54 that they've been decades in the making so this is really an important milestone for so many people.
00:59 What benefit will it bring people living, working in the Henbury area?
01:02 Well it just connects you to the city centre so much. I mean you'll be able to access jobs
01:07 in Temple Meads, you'll get jobs at Filton all via a non-road-based form of transport so if
01:12 they're digging up the roads which seems to be a council hobby then you can just jump on the rail
01:17 and I've got to say the real game change will be if they finally do the Henbury loop and connect
01:21 it over to the Severn Beach line because at that point you'll have the jobs at Filton, Avermouth
01:25 and Temple Meads on a circular circuit and I think from a congestion point of view that's the game
01:30 changer, that's the ultimate goal. Just on Henbury and the profile of the area, Crow Lane is quite a
01:36 deprived area in Bristol as you know, car ownership might be quite low, you've got the clean air zone
01:43 which you could say is... Let's call it controversial. Yeah, it's still known as people who operate older cars
01:49 who can't perhaps afford cars. Will this benefit people who are perhaps living in those deprived
01:53 areas do you think? Yes I think so. I mean first of all obviously you won't pay clean air zone
01:58 because actually you won't be on it, you'll be using rail. It just opens up more opportunities
02:02 because you'll be able to get direct buses to jobs in places like Filton and all the rest of it so
02:07 that's really good news. You can access jobs at the new arena, you can go to Phil & Abbey Wood,
02:11 you go to Temple Meads. Well if the loop was connected and the issue there is actually
02:16 the port, if the line is activated for passengers then you have a lot more trains running on it
02:21 so the barriers drop up and down so you have access to freight and the port becomes an issue
02:25 so that will need solving but if you were to connect it then it would go from Henbury
02:30 in a loop to the Severn Beach line so it connects up to Avonmouth, Shire, Clifton, Stow Bishop, Seamills
02:35 it connects all of that and as I say at that point you have the Avonmouth jobs, you have Filton jobs,
02:41 you have Temple Meads jobs all on a circular North Bristol line and that's amazing. We just
02:47 need to find a way and I'm afraid there'll be a cost to it of solving the access in and out of
02:51 the port because that also supports jobs so we don't want to kill that off either but if we can
02:55 find that solution, the Henbury loop, that's what we're going for. But for now I'm delighted,
03:02 new train station in the news soon I hope.
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