6.7.06 - NORTHERN ROUTE- DfT SAY FURTHER WORK NECESSARY BEFORE FUNDING EVEN CONSIDERED.
Lancashire County Council’s current application for funding the destructive and underperforming Northern Route has been unsuccessful, for the present time at least. In a ten year programme announced by the Department for Transport today (6th July), LCC’s request for funding has not been given the go ahead. “It is a scheme that the Government will consider for approval in the future once further work has been satisfactorily completed”.
This must be seen as a major setback to the controversial plans and a rebuff to the Lancashire County Cabinet who tried to rush the scheme through without a proper public consultation. “The DfT have put the brakes on the plans. It will not grant money until it is satisfied about further work. That could be sometime or it could be never,” said David Gate, chair of Transport Solutions for Lancaster and Morecambe.
“We all know that a great deal more work would have to be done, including a bridge redesign. The costs are mounting by the day. The Government will have to be convinced of value for money, but with no answer to congestion, no regeneration assistance south of the river, and the wanton destruction of the Green Belt, LCC faces an uphill battle. At the moment, approval would be like writing a blank cheque, because so many things are unsatisfactory and unresolved.
"TSLM has not lost sight of the main issue for the massive dual carriageway: the need for independent and professional scrutiny of the plans. It is not acceptable that the County Councillors merely grant themselves planning permission. TSLM will now step up the campaign for a public inquiry to review the scheme."