North West Leicestershire District Council says it will continue to support MP Amanda Hack's attempts to revive the Ivanhoe Line project.

The railway was on course to be re-opened to passenger trains - linking Coalville and Ashby to Derby, with a second phase eventually connecting to Leicester.

But the new Labour government has cut the Restoring Your Railway funding from its budget and, with it, the means to pay for the new line through North West Leicestershire.

Ms Hack had campaigned to be elected in July, saying she fully supported the Ivanhoe Line's re-opening.

Tuesday's District Council full council meeting addressed the issue in response to a question from Cllr Ray Morris to Cllr Keith Merrie MBE.

Cllr Morris asked if he was aware if the newly elected Labour MP had had any communication with government ministers and North West Leicestershire stakeholders in relation to the Ivanhoe Line.

Cllr Merrie replied: "The answer is yes. I spoke to the MP at the opening of Marlborough Square and had a very good conversation with Amanda - and she said she's communicated with the Transport Secretary. It was letters and face to face conversations, so she is doing some work behind the scenes.

"But I did ask the MP to keep all of the stakeholders informed in the reasonable timescale of any stuff that's going on in the background, either through her face to face surgeries, or through online communications or communications direct with the council.

"The biggest fear for residents is the fear of the unknown, so any extra communication from the MP would be gratefully accepted."

Cllr Merrie had earlier provided a written response which said: "In July, Cllr Richard Blunt said that he was very disappointed to learn of the Chancellor's decision to cancel the Restoring Your Railway Programme, particularly as North West Leicestershire District Council has been supportive of the huge amount of work done by partners, including the Campaign to Reopen the Ivanhoe Line (CRIL), Network Rail and other local councils, to reinstate this historically significant branch line.

Image: CRIL

"I fully endorse those comments and, as this is a major setback for this long-awaited project, I will be writing to the new MP to ask her to lobby Government to review its position.

"I will also ask for her support for the reopening of Ivanhoe Line as an individual Restoring Your Railway project when the Transport Secretary undertakes her transport infrastructure review in the Autumn to identify any projects where the benefits may justify replacement funding being made available.

"As we all know, reopening the Ivanhoe Line would be hugely beneficial for local residents, making it easier to travel across the district for work or leisure, and increasing investment from tourism in the area."