Mike Jelfs Blog
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Whetstone Brook Flood Resilience: My Response to the Blaby Local Plan I have now submitted my personal response to the Regulation 19 consultation on the proposed Blaby Local Plan 2025–2042. My response focuses on flood resilience, particularly Policies CC2 and S8 and the proposed development at Whetstone Pastures. The Local Plan contains important measures intended […] The post Whetstone Brook…
Local Government Reorganisation: There Is No Time to Waste The Government has now decided that Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland will be reorganised into two unitary councils from April 2028. I understand the anger about the decision to expand Leicester’s boundary, and I understand why some council leaders are considering a legal challenge. But my immediate […] The post Local Government…
On the 10th June, I joined a Mission Hydrogen webinar on fuel-cell buses in the United States. The speakers were experienced, knowledgeable and, at times, surprisingly candid about the problems the technology still faces. We heard the familiar claims. Hydrogen buses can travel further, refuel quickly, fit more easily into existing operating patterns and provide […] The post Buses offer us a better…
My recent LinkedIn post comparing diesel, hydrogen combustion and battery-electric construction machinery received over 11,600 impressions. That is a strong response for a technical SVG-based post about energy storage in construction machinery. But the most useful part was not the number of impressions. It was the quality of the questions. One expert commenter did exactly […] The post From Fuel…
A few weeks ago I published a concept for a connected local bus network centred on Narborough Station. The aim was simple: create better links between villages, employment sites, shopping destinations and rail services, while reducing the need for short car journeys. Since then I have received feedback through more than 60 conversations, discussions and […] The post From Narborough Station to Park…
A Simple Question Recently I found myself asking a simple question: How long does it take to travel from Whetstone to Narborough Station using public transport? Narborough Station is one of the most important transport hubs in South Leicestershire. It provides access to Leicester, Birmingham, Nottingham and London, and sits close to major employment sites […] The post Why Is It Quicker to Walk to…
Introduction Across the UK, many local authorities have introduced so-called “on-demand” bus services. Rather than following a fixed route and timetable, passengers book journeys through an app or call centre. The vehicle then attempts to combine multiple requests into a shared journey. The promise sounds attractive: flexible transport for communities that cannot support conventional bus […] The…
Introduction Enderby Park & Ride opened in November 2009. In the seventeen years since, the area around it has changed significantly, with major growth in employment, retail and rail travel. That prompted me to ask a simple question after a recent visit: What role is the site playing today? Park & Ride facilities were originally […] The post What Is Enderby Park & Ride For? appeared first on My…
Battery-Electric Trains: Why Rail Does Not Need Hydrogen The Birmingham to Leicester rail corridor is around 39 rail miles. I am using it here as one example of the kind of route where hydrogen trains are sometimes presented as an alternative to overhead electrification. I started writing this because, while preparing my wider “Enough is […] The post Battery-Electric Trains: Why Rail Does Not Need…
The Villages Grew. The Bus Network Barely Changed. A Corridor Through Time Nearly 100 years ago, in 1927, a major new bus garage was constructed in Leicester by the company commonly known as Midland Red, using over 300 tons of steel. From this depot a network of routes spread out across the county, linking Leicester […] The post The Villages Grew. The Bus Network Barely Changed. appeared first on…
