No tax hike for Metrolink move

There will be no massive rise in council tax to pay for Oldham’s £84m town centre Metrolink service, Oldhamers have been assured by council leader Howard Sykes.

But council tax payers will contribute towards it for the next 35 years.

The cost of building Metrolink, modernising stations and creating park and ride schemes will have totalled £106m by 2045.

Following the collapse of the congestion charge bid, council colleagues across Greater Manchester have agreed a £1.535bn transport package which would bring Metrolink trams to Oldham town centre, plus 18 other road, rail, tram and bus schemes.

They will be paid for by a 3 per cent increase on council tax levies for the next six years, then a continuing 30-year payment and an annual top slice off Government transport funds.

Councillor Sykes said: “This decision gives Oldham £84m to invest to get the trams running. A considerable amount of the preliminary work has already taken place. This means that if Cabinet approve it then the scheme is pretty much ‘shovel ready.’

“The work that has been done to transform the state of the council’s finances over the past 12 months means that the financial implications of this bid — which are clearly mentioned in the report — will be managed effectively and absorbed into the medium-term financial strategy which we now have in place.

“Simply put, citizens will not see a dramatic spike in council tax to pay for this once-in-a-lifetime project.”

The council leader spoke out ahead of a Cabinet meeting next weekwhich will commit Oldham to paying £447,000 next year, rising to £3.2m in 2018 for the trams from council tax, continuing until 2045.

It will also pay £5.8m out of capital over the same period.

The overall proposals across the Manchester city region project an increase of 21,000 jobs and a reduction in carbon emissions of 13,000 tonnes.


But it’s more bad news for our rail passengers

OLDHAM rail passengers hoping to escape the misery of overcrowded local trains were dealt a double blow yesterday.

Two train companies have been told that the number of extra carriages promised to them has been slashed in half without explanation, it was revealed.

Northern Rail will receive a maximum of 106 carriages, instead of the 182 it was promised a year ago, according to information passed to MPs.

And TransPennine Express — which had been allocated 42 more coaches — has now been told to expect 24, by the department for transport.

Between them, the two operators run services across Greater Manchester and all across the North.

The revelation that the badly-needed extra carriages will not be delivered triggered a furious reaction from MPs, who seized on it as further evidence that the North is losing out on rail investment.

Many are already angry that London is gaining the £16bn Crossrail project and the £5.5bn Thameslink improvement, while no major schemes go ahead anywhere in the North.

It will also hugely embarrass Gordon Brown who, just this week, claimed that a total of 1,300 carriages were already being delivered around the country.

Significantly, the claims were not denied by either of the rail companies, or by transport minister Chris Mole — who ducked the issue altogether in a Commons debate.

The 1,300 extra carriages were first promised two years ago, as a key plank of the Dft’s £10bn strategy to expand the rail network.

Blackley MP Graham Stringer said rail spending per head was now £783 in London — compared with £278-per head in the North-West.

“The speed of many trains in the North of England system would have embarrassed Gladstone. They are slower than in the 1880s, which is extraordinary,” added Mr Stringer.

The Labour MP also called for Government assurances any trains removed from the Oldham line to allow for tram developments stay in the area.

Mr Mole failed to answer any questions about the number of extra carriages — despite being repeatedly urged to explain the situation.

Northern Rail said talks were continuing and that “no final decision has been reached”, while TransPennine Express said “discussions are on-going at present.”