Transport approval delays leave region facing £35m loss

Mar 3 2010 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

BUREAUCRATIC red-tape could see £35m taken from the region’s transport pot.

Bus routes in Tyneside and Teesside, a new port project and money for a bypass near Morpeth have all been included on a regional transport programme of investment, but are now at risk as civil servants in London drag their heals on vital approvals.

The Department for Transport has previously made it clear that any underspend not used within a few years will be clawed back from the North East.

Nationally, the department is thought to have agreed spending plans worth 20% more than its budget. It is this over-commitment that, critics say, has caused civil servants to hold back on approving North East road and rail schemes.

Regional minister Nick Brown has held urgent talks with transport secretary Lord Adonis seeking assurances that there will be “flexibility” on the unspent cash.

Mr Brown has been assured by him that money will not be put at risk, but he is understood to have made it clear to transport civil servants he will be monitoring the situation.

And Jonathan Blackie, head of the Government’s North East administrative arm, has written to Whitehall urging an end to the expensive delays in decision making.

However, with no promise that the money will not be cut and public spending already set to be slashed, there were fears last night that the DfT would be allowed to claw back money it once promised.