Rift deepens over future of tram
CITY councillors fear the Conservatives who now run Notts County Council may try to put the brakes on new tram lines altogether as well as withdrawing funds for them.
The future of the project to build two new lines linking Clifton and Chilwell to Nottingham city centre was undermined when the Tories took political control of the county council earlier this month.
-
Tories have already pledged to withdraw £28m of council funding
They had pledged before the elections to withdraw council funding of up to £28m. Now in office, the Tories plan to make good on their promise.
The Labour-controlled city council has since been looking at ways to plug the gap.
However, Coun Graham Chapman, deputy leader of the city council, believes the Conservatives want to put a stop to lines two and three for good.
"We have grounds to believe they are going to make it very difficult," he said. "I am appealing to the county council because of the massive consequences of what might happen.
"There could be an impact on the A453. There are other impacts such as the MediPark, other business parks, the QMC, and there is the redevelopment of Beeston town centre where the developer will not be very happy if the tram does not go ahead.
"There are a lot of implications they have not thought through."
The agreements already signed would allow the city to pursue the scheme alone if the county stood aside. Potentially, the county could be in breach of contract if it acted in an obstructive way.
Meanwhile, city council officers have advised councillors that in their view, the traffic models used to plan the improvements to the A453 were based on a tram line to Clifton and a park and ride site taking some traffic off the road. Officials suggest that if the tram line does not go ahead these models may need to be reworked and the road scheme could be significantly delayed.
In addition, the city is warning that the abandonment of the tram would undermine developments such as the NG2 business park and the MediPark, a £100m scheme to accommodate up to 200 medical science firms next to the QMC.
The QMC itself may also have to build a new multi-storey car park if the tram line through its site was abandoned, city council sources say.
Notts County Council has dismissed as a "red herring" the claim that A453 improvements would be jeopardised if the tram scheme did not go ahead.
Coun Richard Jackson, cabinet member for transport, said: "We do not accept that at all. The volume of traffic taken off the A453 [by a tram park and ride] would be nominal."
It is understood county officers are drawing up the paperwork to take to a meeting of the full council to formally agree withdrawal from the tram scheme.
How the county council will act towards the project after that is unclear.
A spokesman said: "The new administration has made its intention on the tram extension clear.
"As a responsible administration, we believe that there is no value in making further statements on this matter until due process has taken place.
"We must not forget that we are all facing difficult times. We have a wide agenda to address as a county council. The tram extension is one of a number of major issues we must deal with."
118 Comments
View all
by Mr B J Mann, Nottingham
Sunday, August 23 2009, 1:18AM
“Errrmmmmmmmmmmmm:
Mr "Sensible":
Who mentioned the developer.
I'm allowing you to trawl the whole country, and every businessman in it.
And you can't find anyone!
.
As for your question:
It's *BEEN* answered.
You even answered it *YOURSELF* !
.
We *ALREADY* *HAVE* bus lanes.
Bus lanes *CAUSE* congestion.
Just like cycle advance stop boxes, traffic "calming", sCams, built out bus stops, strangled junctions, widened pavements, removed lanes, widened pavements, mis set traffic lights, removed roads, puffin crossings that stay on red twice as long as they need to, unmaintained roads, trams........
.
Remove the deliberately introduced causes of congestion and you will remove the congestion.
.”
by Mr B J Mann, Notingham
Sunday, August 23 2009, 1:13AM
“Errrmmmmmmmmmmm:
Ask the Council.
Or NET:
They'll have a copy:
It's the main official government Multi-modal study of transport for the Phase 2 corridor!
.”
by Bruce, Beeston
Wednesday, June 24 2009, 9:50AM
“Mr B J Mann, I've had a good look round for this 6% figure you've quoted (you quoted 5% last week) and can't find anything. Is this study in the public domain? Please provide a link if it is.”
by Mr. Sensible, The Real World
Tuesday, June 23 2009, 6:38PM
“Mr B J Man, as I believe I have already said elsewhere, I would like to know myself who the developers are who are interested in Beeston, but I understand that talks are still ongoing and so I can understand it would be inappropriate for such information to come in to the open whilst this is still going on.
Now I have answered your question, what about answering one of mine? What is your reaction to a suggestion by another of the anti-tram faction on these threads, who says that we don't need bus lanes, and they only increase conjestion. Would that mean that the brilliant bus service which the anti-tram faction advicate just simply wouldn't work?”
by Mr B J Mann, Nottingham
Tuesday, June 23 2009, 3:58PM
“Alright.
Enough's enough!
Tram "fans" such as Councillor Steve Barber, Vice Chair, Development Control Committee, Broxtowe Borough Council (Paying the price, Letters, June 22) and Coun Graham Chapman, deputy leader of the city council (Rift deepens over future of tram, Post, June 22) want us to believe that businesses will only come to developments served by the tram and won't if they are only served by road.
Time to put up or shut up, boys.
Find us a dozen, just half a dozen, even, business leaders who will stand up and say that if they had a choice of moving to one of two developments:
One with tram links but no road links whatsoever, and the other with road links but no tram links whatsoever:
They would definately always move to the one with tram links but no road links whatsoever.
But would never consider moving to the one with road links but no tram links whatsoever.
*STILL* Waiting......
.”
by Daz, Nottingham
Tuesday, June 23 2009, 2:50PM
“Tony, Gamston
Hmmm let me see, I run a bus company and a council approaches me and trys to sell me a bus service knowing that the same council are looking to finance a tram which will replace that bus service. Sounds like a really good deal. NOT.
How about the loonies who keep spouting that line one is profitable, organise that we sell line one to the private secto instead?
Oh thats right it loses a fortune and no one in their right mind would buy it.”
by Tony, Gamston
Tuesday, June 23 2009, 2:07PM
“Oh dear Daz you call me nieve but then come out with all the conspiracy nonsense about public enquiries.
As regards cost, im afraid you are very nieve yourself if you believe discussions haven't already taken place between the City and Central Goverment over this 28 million. Obviously the City would rather the County paid it but your really clutching at straws if you think it will stop the tram. One idea ive heard is the City Council will sell part of their stake in NCT for you guessed it 28 million.”
by nsible, The Real World
Tuesday, June 23 2009, 1:21PM
“Notts Snob, I here this time and again on these threads, and will reply as I always do. I have it on good authority that any cost overruns will be paid for by the contractors concerned. And anyway, whatever the cost, I think it is well worth it for reasons both I and others have given.”
by Notts Snob, Notts
Tuesday, June 23 2009, 1:12PM
“I haven't used public transport in years but of course I understand the need for it. Personally I would not be affected one way or the other if the tram was built or not and the WPL would not affect me as my business is in West Bridgford. However I strongly believe that should lines 2 and 3 be built the final costs will be far greater than the current figures being quoted as is nearly always the case in projects of the scale. Line one is losing money and is subsidised as has been reported. I would not be surprised at all if maybe palms were being greased as is often the way in these things although I will keep names out of it so as not to incur the wrath of the legal boys and girls although I'm sure you can think of several candidates in line for a 'good drink' out of all this.”
by Daz, Greater Nottingham
Tuesday, June 23 2009, 12:57PM
“Tony, Gamston
AhhhTony you are so naive.
Government bodies and councils only have "independant public enquiries" when they are sure they will get the result that they want. Take the government with the referendum on the Lisbon treaty. There isn't one because Gordon Brown knows it will not go his way therefore he won't have one.
We cannot afford the tram without the money from the county council and the money raised by the city council from the WPL. The WPL has still not been OK'd by the government so there is no guarantee that will come at all. If it does it will be a local tax and could lead to other local taxes as the council deem fit.”