Background to the Blight-O-Meter

The Blight Story so far

3rd February, 2006

On the day line one of NET opened (8/3/04) Alistair Darling the Scottish MP and Secretary of State for Transport, said in Beeston Town Hall "We cannot do nothing; nothing is what we are good at, you must decide what you want to do with your transport system locally and decide quickly".

Within a short time the City and County Councils, as promoters of NET phase two, voted in a favour of the proposed routes, entered them in the local transport plan and voted to submit an application for funding for the scheme to the DfT. We were expecting a quick turn round and a quick decision on funding from the DfT as that is what we had been told to expect. Then came a Government transport spending review. We were told to expect a decision in autumn 2004. The National Audit office reported on Light Rail and Praised Nottingham and at its inquiry in Parliament David Rowlands, the DfT equivalent of Sir Humphrey, said the words quoted on the blight-o-meter.

In November 2004 (and well documented in the archive section) the local County Council leader decided the scheme could not progress until after the May 2005 general election, and blamed the DfT. BACIT met the then Transport Minister a few days after this and she blamed the Council. This was denied in a letter from the then council leader Mick Warner.

All this time NET was in negotiations with the DfT over the application, answering question after question, and questions on questions. Again, after the election in May 2005 no news; more demands for extra info were requested from NET by the DfT, (presumably while they cleared up the mess they have made of other provincial cities' transport and regeneration plans). BACIT then met Derek Twigg the new transport minister in July 2005. He said "expect a decision soon".

So here we are, nearly two years down the road and still waiting for the DfT's decision. They now have a "40 day rule" for dealing with such applications, which they blatantly ignore. Before Christmas we learnt that road schemes which are massively over-budget are being passed, and a lot quicker than NET phase 2.

Beeston is blighted and those who have to sell land and property for the route are stuck. £2bn of development work along the route, including the Beeston Square and Broadmarsh developments etc. are all held up waiting to know which way to go. We can only conclude that the London based DfT know little and care little about the provinces and the people who live there.

Alistair Darling, Derek Twigg and their senior Civil Servants David Rowlands and Robert Devereux are blighting our area by their failure to make any decision. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We are counting the time they are leaving our whole area stuck in limbo.