Tories accused of exaggeration to keep bypass alive (South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@secambslibdems.org.uk>

Tories accused of exaggeration to keep bypass alive

August 4, 2010 5:59 PM

Cllr Nigel Bell wants Tories to examine serious alternatives to the bypass

Liberal Democrats have accused the Tories of exaggerating to justify their campaign for a £28 million southern bypass.

They claim the Tories have exaggerated the amount of time the Ely railway level crossing will be closed to traffic in the future to keep the bypass plan alive.

Ely North and East Councillor Nigel Bell said: "The Tories have maintained that in 20 years time the railway crossing will be closed for over 50 minutes of every hour.

"The consultants have reported that at the moment it is closed for 24 minutes of every hour and that it would be closed for 34 minutes by 2030. The consultants conceded that a figure of 50 minutes was 'not impossible'."

An alternative route for the road through the King's School playing fields would cost nearly £23 million. Although cheaper, the bypass project was rejected numerous times by central and regional government several years ago when it was costed at only £15 million.

The issue was discussed at East Cambridgeshire District Council's Growth Delivery Working Party recently.

"While I welcome the fact that cheaper alternatives are at last being investigated, it seems that many Tory councillors are already dismissing these, prior to any final report, because they don't fit in with the Ely Masterplan," added Cllr Bell.

"Also as there is no central government money for a bypass, 'alterrnative sources' of funding are being investigated, including borrowing against future developer contributions."

He said that the massive housing growth in Ely, proposed in the Tory Masterplan, would bring increased traffic but any developer money would then simply be spent on building a road to cope with the extra traffic.

Cllr Bell commented: "This is the tail wagging the dog. It looks as though an extra 5,000 houses in Ely would bring no benefit at all to the city beyond a road to cope with the extra traffic it generated."

"It is time Conservative councillors stopped dreaming and seriously examined alternative solutions to the bypass. They cannot put the district into hock for decades to pay for this."

Lib Dem Leader Ian Allen said: "Ely cannot grow in the way that it needs to unless we solve the congestion at the railway station. The Tories are

following this fantasy of a southern bypass which will never see the light of day. We need to look at real alternatives now so that we can move

forward."