To all supporters of the open letter,

We would like to draw your attention to the joint response* published by the West Somerset PLC (PLC), West Somerset Steam Railway Trust (WSSRT) and West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) yesterday, Thursday 9th July 2020. 

Some progress is being made on issues raised in the open letter, and as previously stated, we welcome this. However, the S&D Trust's notice to quit remains “the elephant in the room”. To restore trust, we believe this needs to be withdrawn as quickly as possible by the PLC. Significant effort should also be made to heal the relationship with this valued member of the railway family as soon as possible. Huge amounts of goodwill, and as a result donations, have been lost at a time when they are needed the most.

Encouragingly, the response does appear to indicate a new willingness to an open dialogue and we hope this signals the beginning of the much-needed organisational change. We encourage you to seize this opportunity and contact the three boards directly with your comments and concerns. 

We are heartened to see the WSRA have already established a mechanism to enable this open dialogue and have published a direct route for signatories to contact them via the email address petition@wsra.org.uk (Further details here: https://www.wsra.org.uk/2020/07/09/petition-response-published/). They are encouraging the wider community to get in touch, not just WSR volunteers, stakeholders and members. The WSRA are asking for comments and request that you identify yourself to them, however they state personal details will not be passed on and remain confidential. 

The three boards can be contacted using the following: 

PLC Chairman:  jon.jones-pratt@wsrail.net 

WSSRT Chairman: austinca2@googlemail.com

WSRA Chairman: mike.sherwood@wsra.org.uk 

In addition Councillor Mike Rigby, who represents Somerset West and Taunton Council at the WSR’s Partnership Development Group, is seeking views on the possible restructuring of the West Somerset Railway and we encourage you to contact him by email on mike@mikerigby.org

*The response can be viewed here: https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/news/detail/petition-response