Warning over bus scheme funding

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Council leaders have claimed that changing the route of a controversial new bus project through Bath could lead to the loss of £54 million of Government funding for transport improvements.

But the city's MP has accused the ruling Conservative administration at Bath and North East Somerset Council of "scaremongering" as the authority attempts to change hearts and minds over its £16 million Bus Rapid Transit scheme.

The scheme - which would see a new bus service between park and ride sites at Newbridge and Bathampton - is part of the Bath Transportation Package. The initiative - which would also expand existing park and ride sites and create new bus lanes - could cost as much as £58 million, the vast majority of which would come from the Government.

There is opposition to the BRT because of its impact on a handful of gardens and a stretch of footpath in Lower Weston and Newbridge, where a segregated bus route would be created. In the city centre itself and to the east, the BRT buses - which would go through the planned Western Riverside zone - would run on existing streets.

Residents, local councillors and Bath MP Don Foster have called for B&NES to rethink its choice of route. Some people say the scheme should be scrapped altogether while others have suggested running buses along either Newbridge Road or Lower Bristol Road.

Today the council said a letter from the Government Office for the South West had made it clear that changing the route would mean the authority resubmitting its case for funding to ministers because of the change in the overall cost of the package.

A spokesman said: "The time it may take for the Government to reassess any new proposal could result in the area foregoing transport funding. "The Government Office for the South West is very clear in its advice. If the Bus Rapid Transit route was either altered to the Lower Bristol Road or scrapped altogether it would put at significant risk the entire £54 million package of improvements urgently needed to tackle traffic congestion in Bath. This would result in no expanded park and ride provision, no improvement to ten major bus routes in the city, and no chance of enhancing the pedestrian environment."

The council has released a new image of what the dedicated route would look like as it prepares for a public exhibition at the Guildhall of the whole transport package. It has been keen to show that pedestrians and cyclists will make use of the newly-created route, and that there will be extensive landscaping and tree-planting. Council cabinet member for transport Cllr Charles Gerrish said: "The proposed Bus Rapid Transit scheme forms an integral part of our plan to tackle congestion in Bath and North East Somerset. It provides an essential link between the park and ride schemes to the west and east of the city, and also the new transport interchange at SouthGate containing enhanced bus and rail facilities. This image is the most accurate illustration so far of what the council intends to develop for residents – a route that enhances the local environment with improvements for cyclists, pedestrians, and environmentally-friendly buses using cleaner fuels."

The council says the buses will take just six minutes to transport commuters from Newbridge into the city centre at peak periods.

Liberal Democrat Mr Foster said council officers had admitted at a recent meeting that they had "not done significant work into alternative routes, and that they did not have the resources to do so."

He said: "If they have now been given resources and have completed some real work into alternative routes, then it should be made public immediately. What is more likely is that this is the council scaremongering in an attempt to push through their unpopular route. Had there been proper consultation and discussion with residents to begin with, then perhaps the council would not have the resort to such tactics. "Without proper work being done into alternative routes, the council cannot claim that route would 'cost more' or 'take longer'."

The Response2route pressure group, set up to fight the BRT scheme, is urging people to show their opposition at the exhibition. Spokeswoman Jo McCarron said the council was wrong to paint the disused railway line which would be used for the segregated route as "derelict, unused wasteland."

"Anyone who knows the area will know that this stretch of land is abundant with diverse wildlife and well established trees. The land is used frequently as a footpath and by children as a play area. There is a noticeable lack of green space in this area, making the corridor an essential asset to our community."

The group says the dedicated route will do little to reduce congestion. Mrs McCarron said: "There is no segregated route for buses to bypass the busy streets of the city centre or the London Road where the real congestion is. Therefore the council will be wasting a great deal of money on building a partial solution in the wrong place." She said the scheme could even aggravate congestion in the Windsor Bridge area if extra traffic lights were installed to give the buses priority.

The council's exhibition is in the Brunswick Room, at the Guildhall from 3pm to 7pm tomorrow, 10am to 6pm on Friday and 9.30am to 5pm on Saturday. Mrs McCarron added: "Whatever your views on the BRT, this is your last opportunity to have input and make objections before a planning application is submitted. If affected residents do not turn up, the council will just assume that local people agree with the plans. It is essential everyone makes an effort to attend to makes it clear to officials that they object to the proposal."

The group is also planning a peaceful protest before the next full council meeting at 6.30pm on November 20 at the Guildhall, when it will also hand over a petition to councillors.

Read this article on the Bath Chronicle website.