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£100m tram bid hits the buffers
THE £100m revamp of Blackpool's tram network has hit the buffers after the Government ordered an 11th hour review of the plans.
THE 100m revamp of Blackpool's tram network has hit the buffers after the Government ordered an 11th hour review of the plans.
Council leaders today admitted they fear for the future of the famous seafront service after the Government announced it is to probe the siting of a controversial new depot at Starr Gate.
In a dramatic turn of events, the "call in" notice was made just two minutes before councillors were due to approve planning permission.
Local residents have fought a fierce campaign against Blackpool Council plans which they say will be detrimental to the local environment and their own homes.
Council leader Peter Callow said: "Any delay could spell the end of the line for trams in Blackpool, which is unthinkable. I can't understand why the Government would call in the decision and delay it, when they have invested 75m in it.
"I will be contacting the Transport Minister, Saddique Khan, today to make sure there is no delay.
"Blackpool has the longest unbroken history of trams, and I'm glad both Labour and Conservatives voted for it to be approved. It's just unfortunate it has to be referred."
The depot – which will house a fleet of 16 supertrams, a tram wash, and car parking – is currently under construction.
The plans were approved in June but, in November, a court found the council had not met environmental screening rules.
The authority was forced to make a fuller assessment of environmental impact and resubmit the application.
Starr Gate Residents Association, who employed a lawyer to take the council to court, said the authority had flouted planning regulations.
During last night's Town Hall meeting, planning officer Gary Johnson revealed: "I got a call two minutes before the meeting, telling me Government Office North West was preparing an Article 14 direction, meaning whatever the council's decision, it has to be referred to the Government Office.
"They said this was to ensure we have a clean set of hands, after the oversights last time."
The meeting went on to approve the scheme but the decision must now be examined by central government.
The council has a funding deadline of Easter 2012 from central government and requires the tram depot up and running by May 2011.
Coun Callow has previously warned the authority would face a "funding risk" if it could not deliver on time.
However, Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden said government involvement was important to assure transparency.
And he said he could see no reason for the call in to be a major obstacle or create a lengthy delay.
He said: "Nobody wants to see a delay that would hold up this vitally important scheme for Blackpool.
"Residents have put a strong and robust case and it's important all views are looked at dispassionately before a decision is made.
"What I would like to see in the interim is the council undertake a more proactive consultation and let's see if an amicable resolution can be achieved." The original plans were unlawful and these plans need to be checked before anything can be done.”
Philip Andrew, of Freemantle Avenue, South Shore, said: “We don’t want them to abandon building the trams, but it’s not right at Starr Gate. The council has ignored us and begun to build without full planning permission, unlawfully.”
He added: “Spending 55,000 was an outrageous waste of taxpayers money. We had to spend 20,000 because the council made mistakes.”
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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