Transport schemes in melting pot
The inquiry, which will look at the four sets of compulsory purchase orders issued over land needed for the Bath Transportation Package, will take place some time between mid-March and mid-May.
Opponents of the schemes which are part of the package have taken heart from the announcement - which will push any final agreement on Government funding beyond the next general election.
The 59 parcels of land relate to sites needed for expanding the Newbridge Park and Ride site, lengthening a bus lane in London Road, creating a stretch of bus lane in Lower Bristol Road, and the creation of the hotly-debated Bus Rapid Transit in Newbridge.
In October one set of Government officials decided that an inquiry was not needed into the two most contentious aspects of Bath and North East Somerset Council’s package – a new park-and-ride site at Bathampton and the new BRT route along a former railway line at Newbridge.
But because the 160 objections received over the CPOs include some from statutory objectors - people directly affected - a separate inquiry into whether the land should be taken will now be held.
The council has initial approval for the Government funding which will pay for the vast majority of the package - but still needs what is called full business case approval from the Department for Transport.
Analysts are expecting expenditure on transport to be one of the losers in the squeeze on public spending over the next few years - whatever party is in power after the election which is likely to be held on May 6.
The council said that as far as it is concerned, everything was still going to plan.
A spokesman said: "This inquiry was entirely expected by the council. Bath and North East Somerset Council has always programmed into the Bath Transportation Package timetable a suitable length of time for a public inquiry related to the confirmation of a CPO.
"Upon the receipt on even one statutory objection, the Secretary of State must hold a public inquiry under Government legislation unless all parties (i.e. the objectors) agree an inquiry is unnecessary.
"The council must consider the objections that have been submitted. Negotiations continue with landowners to reduce the need for compulsory purchase. The timing and duration of the CPO inquiry will depend on these considerations. The timescales for the public inquiry indicated by the Department for Transport are earlier than the council anticipated. The Bath Transportation Package project proceeds as planned."
City MP Don Foster, who supports the Bathampton scheme but is opposed to the choice of route for the BRT, said the chickens were coming home to roost for the council.
“Right from the outset I have argued that more research was needed into these proposals.
“When I spoke at a council meeting in September 2008, I expressed my concerns that this project had been tackled the wrong way round, and that consultation with residents had been far from adequate.
“However, the council refused to listen to my concerns and is now faced with the real possibility of losing almost £60 million.”
Professor Christine Harland of the University of Bath's School of Management said she did not know the detail of the scheme but added: "It appears likely that irrespective of which party is elected that there will be substantial cuts to public spending announced immediately.
"Even in those areas of public spending where departmental expenditure limits are not substantially reduced in total, efficiency savings will be targeted. Each proposed project will be scrutinised more closely and will have to provide far more evidence of value for money.
"Calling for an inquiry in this particular situation is not unusual and is likely to relate to the number of complaints received, not necessarily anything more sinister. "However, the longer projects remain unapproved, the more likely it is that they will not be funded or funding will be reduced because the story is not going to get better, only worse for another year."
Bjorn Arnils, who would lose part of the garden of the home in Ashley Avenue he shares with his partner Nadine Geary, said he hoped a new government of whatever political hue would look at the situation in a different way.
“It seems to be a complete waste of more than £50 million and apart from that it is going to take my garden away.”
Local councillors Loraine Morgan-Brinkhurst and Caroline Roberts (Lib Dem, Newbridge) said they were delighted with the calling of the inquiry, which will be presided over by an independent inspector.
Ms Morgan-Brinkhurst said: “There are over 1,000 residents affected by this who have all campaigned against it and at long last everything we have been saying has been listened to.
“Residents have worked extremely hard and we feel now we have got the option to put forward our case that this shouldn’t go ahead and there are other options. We think impartiality is really important.”
Bath Preservation Trust chief executive Caroline Kay said she hoped the CPO inquiry could also test whether Bathampton Meadows was the best site for an east-of-Bath park and ride scheme.
But spokesman for the South West Transport Network, David Redgewell, said he did not think the delay caused by the inquiry would jeopardise the plans, which aim to combat congestion throughout the city. He said he regarded the money as already allocated.
And he said of the BRT: “If it had been going through the countryside or beautiful open spaces or green belt land there would be some real issues but this goes through a disused railway line.
“It is not a beautiful oasis. I have sympathy for people with their gardens but it is not a place of beauty. We are talking about brambles and weeds. I’m pretty confident about the whole situation.”
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "We will have to wait for the outcome of the public inquiry before any decision can be taken on full approval of the Bath Transport Package."
It had originally asked the council to have all its paperwork in order by March to receive full business case approval before the election.
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