PR 2489
PROMOTER SLAMS GOVERNMENT FOR TRAM SCHEME `NO'
Hampshire County Council is demanding to know how Government expects it to manage its massive housebuilding ambitions for the south east when the Department for Transport has refused to stump up the extra cash for a key infrastructure project - the tram scheme linking Fareham, Gosport and Portsmouth.
After waiting for more than six months for a decision on its revised scheme, Hampshire County Council has finally been told the plan for the South Hampshire Rapid Transit tram scheme (SHRT1) has been turned down by Government. The tram scheme would have taken three million car journeys per year off the road in one of the most severely congested areas in the south. Traffic and congestion are predicted to rise even further with the area earmarked by Government to take as many as 80,000 new homes over the next 20 years.
Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber, said: "I'm devastated to hear this news, and appalled that we have had to wait so long for this shortsighted decision and the long wait from Government to make up its mind. We are particularly disappointed for the people of South Hampshire, for whom we worked so hard to deliver this project.
"We're now trying to understand Government's figures, after the Secretary of State said the scheme was too expensive. We think Government is simply using inflation, much of which was caused by its delays, to justify dropping the project on the grounds of cost - but we need time to clarify this. This scheme had a significantly better cost-benefit ratio than any of the tram schemes under consideration nationally, and is better than most national transport schemes. The changes we made in response to Government's request to reduce the cost improved its value for money even further. To refuse funding for it now beggars belief.
"I have already sent a clear message to Government that any development in the South East must be accompanied by investment in infrastructure, and a report commissioned earlier this year by the South East County Leaders estimated that more than £45 billion of investment in new infrastructure is needed to support development in the South East Plan.
"A large part of those costs still need to be found because of a predicted funding gap between Government support and developer contributions towards new roads, schools, hospitals, and other vital facilities. Now Government tells us one of the key transport projects so badly needed is too expensive. What does this indicate for future investment in infrastructure in our region?
"The SHRT1 scheme is the missing link in our transport network, and I find it hard to understand why Government can't acknowledge that simple fact. Local transport infrastructure in south Hampshire is stretched to the limit, and we desperately need measures to tackle existing access and mobility problems - and we need those measures now."
The Department for Transport's refusal to part-fund the scheme to the tune of £170 million means drivers will continue to face severe congestion in the south of the county, and the economic potential of the Gosport and Portsmouth peninsulas will suffer because of poor access. Planning permission for the scheme expires next July and this decision means the scheme will have to start all over again if is ever to go ahead.
Following the Department for Transport's refusal a year ago to fund its proportion of the increased costs, at the instigation of Government the promoters reviewed the scope of the scheme so that there were options to consider a phased approach, such as deferring the Fareham loop between the train station and the bus station. Risk was also realigned between the public and private sectors to reduce Government's contribution. Another £500,000 was spent complying with Government's requirements to update all the scheme assessments, on top of the £10 million already sunk in the development of SHRT1.
The County Council firmly believed it had a strong case because SHRT1:
· dovetailed with Government aims of economic regeneration, social inclusion and integrated transport
· made use of disused railway lines, thus freeing up space on congested roads
· provided a tunnel under Portsmouth harbour which would have linked Portsmouth and Gosport
· would have brought capacity, frequency, reliability and attractiveness to its passengers, reducing travel time
· provides a better ratio of benefits to cost than many other nationally funded schemes
Now Gosport, with 70,000 people, remains the largest town in the UK without a train service.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
Portsmouth and the Gosport peninsula are two of the most densely populated parts of Hampshire and home to the naval dockyard and many service industries. Recent research has shown that Portsmouth has one of the county's lowest average gross weekly earnings per person and one of the highest percentages of long term unemployed. Although there are high levels of skilled manual workers compared to the national average, there are pockets of deprivation and the area is suffering from lack of investment and growth partly because of the poor infrastructure including transport.
Costs for the project increased to due to a number of factors outside the local authorities' control - including greater insurance premiums following the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, high construction inflation arising from the delay, an increase in public utility diversion work and the fact that the tunnel under Portsmouth harbour has to be deeper to accommodate the Royal Navy's new ships. Due to the changes in the project the cost increases have been contained apart from cosntruction inflation. The revised scheme and modified risk, after taking account of a reasonable estimate of fare revenue, would have got cost down to £200m over the life of the project. In 2001 Government agreed to support the project providing that public sector support did not exceed £170 million, but this support was revoked last July due to cost escalation across the light rail sector.
The two bidders for the tram project were SMART consortium and South Hampshire Supertram Ltd.
For further media information please contact: Sarette Martin on 01962 847666 sarette.martin@hants.gov.uk