THE Department for Transport (DfT) is to be asked to provide at least £270m of funding in a new bid for Merseytram Line One – having previously turned down a bid for £100m less.
The Daily Post can reveal the revised cost of building the Liverpool to Kirkby line now stands at a total £430m.
Transport authority Merseytravel has already spent £70m on the scheme, leaving another £360m to be found.
A crunch meeting of every council chief executive and leader across Merseyside will take place within days – at which their crucial support will be sought.
Internal political fighting during the previous bid process led to the DfT refusing to hand over £170m-worth of funding for
the scheme in November, 2005, effectively bringing progress to a halt.
Now Merseytravel leader Cllr Mark Dowd is confident that, if all Merseyside councils give their moral support to the scheme, a successful bid for Government cash can be put together.
The DfT would be asked for at least 75% of the remaining £360m, which would leave the Department with a bill of at least £270m – £100m more than it provisionally committed before and then withdrew.
Last night, Cllr Dowd said: “We need the moral support of the district councils – we are not asking them to put in any extra money. We have already put £70m in to the scheme. The district councils have done their bit through that. We need to have a united force.”
Merseytravel is keen to submit a fresh business case to the DfT soon, and has agreed to work to do so before March. It has the powers to start to build Line One until February, 2010.
There are a number of external factors which could strengthen the bid, but which are not understood to be vital.
If Everton FC and Tesco win the public inquiry to go ahead with their £400m development in Kirkby, the case for a tram to the town would be much stronger.
Cllr Dowd denied that Merseytravel was waiting for the outcome of the public inquiry, which is expected in February.
“When we kicked off this scheme, the football club’s plans were not part of the bid. If the ground does come forth, it would assist.”
He said the project could be one of the schemes the Government uses to build its way out the current recession.
“If we get the go-ahead from government, we could start work in a matter of weeks.
“It would take about two years to build, you can imagine how many jobs it would create.”
The outcome of the congestion charge referendum in Greater Manchester, that would see the government invest £3bn in local transport [part-funded by the charge] if the majority vote “yes” is also being watched in Merseyside.
The ballot closes on December 11, and, if the congestion charge is rejected, there is hope Merseyside might benefit from the re-direction of government money for large public transport schemes.
Last night, a Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “No fresh proposal has yet been submitted for a Merseytram scheme, but we would be happy to consider any submissions supported by all local councils.”
FOR previous stories on Merseytram, visit www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/tags/merseytram/
OPINION: PAGE 10
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