Oldham says ‘Yes’ to congestion charge

OLDHAMERS have given a thumbs-up to plans to introduce congestion charging to help pay to bring Metrolink trams into the town centre.

They have voted by 51 per cent to 41 per cent in a Mori poll ahead of the Greater Manchester-wide referendum in December which will decide whether the bid for £3 billion of public transport improvements can go ahead.

To win the referendum, the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities would have to get a “Yes” in at least seven of the 10 districts. They will be delighted that the Mori poll of 5,000 people produced a “Yes” majority in each borough.

And in Oldham, even if the eight per cent of “Don’t knows” decided to oppose the plan, there would still be a majority in favour.

Officials, who are due to present the figures to council leaders in October, declined to comment on the result but confirmed the figures which show a countywide “Yes” majority of 53 per cent.

Many opponents rejoiced when AGMA decided to put the matter to Greater Manchester’s first referendum since the 1970s Common Market poll, believing a “No” vote was a certainty.

The Mori poll asked: “The Government has accepted, in principle, the Greater Manchester councils’ bid for up to £3 billion to invest in the local transport network of Greater Manchester.

“The Government has said it will give the councils over half the money and allow them to borrow the rest ONLY if most of it is repaid by the money raised from a weekday peak-time congestion charge scheme. The congestion charge would not be introduced before summer 2013, once at least 80 per cent of the proposed new public transport is in operation.

“Do you think the councils should accept this offer from the Government or not?”

One of the most positive boroughs is Rochdale — which, like Oldham, will benefit from Metrolink — where 57 per cent voted “Yes”.

But, curiously, Trafford, where the conservative council is opposed to congestion charging, 55 per cent voted to accept.

And the most positive of all was Wigan — with a 58 per cent “Yes” vote — which will benefit least from the package.

A spokesman for United City, the alliance of businesses formed to support the bid, said: “These polling results show that the people of Greater Manchester understand the importance of a massive financial investment bringing a world class transport network — both to individuals and to the wider business community.

“United City’s firm belief is that as more and more people understand the limited, peak time-only nature of the charge and the fact that a majority of the £3 billion public transport investment will be in place before the charging scheme is introduced, support will continue to grow for these proposals.

“Through improved quality of life, a healthier environment and a more efficient transport network to support our growing economy, Greater Manchester is set to gain massively from these proposals. TIF is an opportunity we must not miss and it is encouraging to see that the general public is realising this.”