Altering transport plan would cost council £5m

Friday, September 12, 2008

Bath and North East Somerset Council has revealed it could be facing a multi-million pound bill if it ditches controversial parts of a major transport package.
The council has successfully bid for more than £50 million of Government money to pay for a programme of improvements across B&NES over the next four years.

The Bath Transportation Package includes the expansion of park-and- ride sites and improvements to 10 bus routes.

But it also includes a new park-and-ride site to the east of the city and the hotly-debated £16 million Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) – a dedicated bus route connecting the new facility with Newbridge.

Both projects have been attacked by pressure groups and residents concerned about the environmental and economic impact on the areas targeted for development.

But B&NES Council director for planning and transport development, David Trigwell, this week issued a stark warning that rules regarding Government funding of such projects had changed.

Mr Trigwell told the council's enterprise and economic development overview and scrutiny panel that if the authority went back to Whitehall with alternative proposals for its transport package, it could be asked to contribute 10 per cent of the overall cost.

This could mean the authority facing a bill of more than £5 million in order to secure the overall funding.

The council would also be sent to the back of the queue in the bidding process.

Mr Trigwell said: "When this council made its application, the release of funding at that stage did not require a local contribution.

"Significantly, since we made our application and got programme entry, the rules have been amended."

The Bath Transportation Package will also include installing electronic signs on major routes to show drivers the availability of spaces in park-and-ride and parking sites.

Mr Trigwell said: "If we go back to the Government and say we need to revise our plans, then the council's credibility, which has already seen a significant amount of taxpayers' money being spent, will also be called into question."

The meeting also saw pressure groups, parish councils and residents from in and around the city call on the council to reject its plans for a park-and-ride facility at Bathampton, in favour of a former airfield two and a half miles north of the A4 roundabout at Charmy Down.

Bathhampton Parish Council chairman Tony McCann said: "Scaremongering about being forced back into the bidding system is nothing but scaremongering until further discussions have taken place."

Batheaston Parish Council member Sidney Freemantle referred the panel to a report by the Government Office for the South West in 2004 which said development of Bathampton Meadows would have a seriously adverse impact on the landscape of the area.

Mr Freemantle also revealed the results of a survey of residents in Batheaston which showed more than 1,000 people opposed plans for the development of the Mill Lane site, which has replaced Lambridge as B&NES's chosen location.

The meeting also heard from opponents of the BRT scheme, who called for an independent study of the economic and environmental impact of the project which plans to create a new dedicated bus route through Newbridge.

But Mr Trigwell said: "The reality is this city, both from an economic and residential point of view, needs significant improvements to be made in relation to its environment and pollution.

"It is understandable that the greater benefit will have impacts upon areas of the community and that is something which the process we are looking at will address."

Council officers are due to meet parish councils in the areas affected by the transport package next week.

Consultation will continue with a final presentation on the proposals in November before a planning application is submitted.