New Liverpool business tax may revive trams

Oct 17 2007 EXCLUSIVE by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

TALKS between Merseytravel and Government ministers into reviving the abandoned Merseytram project are continuing, the Daily Post can reveal.

It comes as a leading member of the passenger transport authority last night said it was time to consider using a supplementary business rate to help fund Line One from Liverpool to Kirkby.

Earlier this month, Chancellor Alistair Darling announced a White Paper to allow local authorities to charge an additional tax of a maximum of 2p in the pound to pay for one-off infrastructure and regeneration schemes.

Last night, Cllr Peter Millea, leader of the Lib-Dems on Merseytravel, and Liverpool’s executive member for corporate resources, said: “I think we should be looking at all options, I don’t see why we should rule it out.

“I don’t think businesses would have a problem if they thought they would benefit.”

Last night, the Department for Transport said it would not stand in the way of the levy being used to fund the trams.

It comes on the eve of the first Merseyside annual transport conference, that will be held today at St George’s Hall.

Any supplementary rate would not apply to premises with a rateable value of less than £50,000, and a majority of those participating would need to vote in favour if the supplement would support more than a third of the costs of the scheme, said Mr Darling earlier this month.

Ironically, it was Mr Darling, when Transport Secretary, who axed Line One of Merseytram, in November, 2005.

He insisted he could not agree to a Government contribution of £238m, up from £170m, and attacked Liverpool City Council for refusing to underwrite any cost overruns.

But Merseytravel refused to accept the scheme was dead and kept it in its local transport plan.

Last night, a senior source at Merseytravel said discussions were going on with ministers about ways the scheme could move ahead as its planning permission is valid until February, 2010.

The source said the cost benefit ratio of the scheme now stood at 2:1 (£2 of benefit for each pound spent), which was better than when it was first proposed in 2004.

The main factor in this is Everton FC’s plans to move to Kirkby which would be at the end of the line. New capital costs would have to be drawn up for the scheme, but these are not thought to have risen dramatically.

Cllr Millea has put down a motion on the subject of the trams for tonight’s meeting of Liverpool City Council. He argues that London is given preferential treatment for funding, particularly the Crossrail scheme, and will call for a level playing field.

Last night, he said: “We need to get the Government to commit to it. That could include bringing in business rates or levies. But there are other things we could be doing.”

He said the 24-hour service would provide a reliable work- force that got to work on time and link communities with jobs.

“Maybe we should be looking at issuing stocks or bonds, even getting people to sponsor track.”

A spokesman for Merseytravel said: “We are interested in the developments and will have to see how it progresses.”

A Department of Transport spokeswoman said: “If the local authorities in Merseyside are able to fund Merseytram from their own sources, that would be entirely a matter for them.”