Council to hear call to get Sheffield's Supertram bid 'back on track'

1.15.47pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 24th Jul 2006

Sheffield Supertram

Sheffield City Council are set to hear a call from the Liberal Democrat group to launch a cross-party effort to get the cities bid to extend Supertram 'back on track'. The Government have recently turned down a £104m bid to extend the Supertram network to Rotherham and to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and Sheffield University.

However, Liberal Democrats on the council will move a motion at next week's council calling for the council to petition Government, on a cross-party basis with other key stakeholders, with the aim of making the Government reconsider their position.

Lib Dems believe that the council should refuse to accept the Governments decision. They believe that Supertram is a vital element to economic success as it would help reduce the huge congestion problem in the city. It would also have other benefits from linking up more people with employers and services.

Sheffield lost out on the £104m bid even though the Government accepted schemes in London and Manchester that ran into billions of pounds. Lib Dems believe Sheffield deserves a fair deal on transport investment and that a cross-party 'back on track' call has the best chance of succeeding.

Councillor Sylvia Dunkley, Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet member for Transport, said: -

"We cannot accept that the Government spends vast amounts of money on transport in London, but when it comes to Sheffield and South Yorkshire they cannot find the relatively small amount of investment that was bid for"

"Therefore we believe that the council should challenge Government and petition them on a cross-party basis to get the Supertram bid back on track"

"The Supertram bid could have delivered many economic, transport and social improvements for Sheffield. It is vital that all parties within the council get together and present a united front in order to make the government reconsider their position"

"We need cross-party support in pressing for a fair deal for Sheffield in order to have the best chance of succeeding. I hope that our motion to council next week can be unanimously supported"

Notice of Motion to be moved by Cllr Scriven, seconded by Cllr Dunkley

That this Council: -

(a) notes that scheme to extend the Supertram network could provide thousands of people in Sheffield with an environmentally-friendly alternative to travelling by car, helping to reduce congestion on our roads;

(b) furthermore notes that Supertram expansion is a vital element to the economic success of Sheffield and the wider South Yorkshire region, and that it could boost job prospects by linking more people to major employers and services;

(c) is therefore dismayed that the Government has snubbed Sheffield by refusing to fund extensions to the Supertram network;

(d) notes that the Government chooses to spend billions of pounds in London and Manchester on new transport schemes and is therefore disappointed that the Government cannot provide this relatively small amount of investment for Sheffield;

(e) therefore condemns Government for its lack of support for Sheffield and its public transport system and calls for a re-think of policy to bring about a fair deal for Sheffield people on this issue;

(f) calls on the Government to justify why the Supertram bid does not meet their value for money criteria, as when the bid was submitted to the Department for Transport it appeared to meet the necessary funding criteria;

(g) refuses to accept the Governments decision on this issue and accordingly resolves to petition Government on a cross-party basis together with the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and other key stakeholders with the aim of making the Government reconsider their position;

(h) directs the Chief Executive to bring forward as soon as possible a report, with consultation and informal agreement from the leaders of all political parties on the council, that outlines how the petitioning of Government will be facilitated by the council on a cross-party basis.