£70m bill for failed Merseytram project

Jan 17 2008 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

Merseytravel image

WEAK management and decision-making led to huge sums of public money being committed to the failed Merseytram project, a damning report concludes today.

The Audit Commission said passenger transport authority Merseytravel did not pay enough attention to managing the risk of the scheme, and should not have dedicated its resources at the rate it did.

The final bill of £70m for the collapsed project was revealed in the report, of which £50m was borrowed. Paying the debt off is costing the authority £4.8m a year, and has contributed to Merseytravel’s “difficult financial” position, the report said.

Significant sums of cash were committed on the scheme before Merseytravel had the money to pay for it, and there were currently no “tangible benefits”, it concludes.

Merseytravel blames “rogue officials” within Liverpool Council, including former chief executive Sir David Henshaw, for the project’s failure, although Sir David last night branded the report a “vindication” of his previous concerns.

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