RED FACES IN WOLVO RED ROUTE ROW?

15-05-2008

What’s that we hear?  Why, it’s the furious sound of back-pedalling from Wolverhampton’s ruling Conservatives over their decision to scrap the city’s controversial Red Route – not least because it could cost taxpayers money.

As we revealed last week, the Tories first action on taking control of the city was to announce the scrapping of the congestion-busting scheme on the A449 Stafford Road (see link here).

It was crowd-pleasing stuff – but as is now becoming clear, not without its drawbacks.

West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority – who applied for the cash which allowed the Route to be implemented in the first place – are demanding a meeting with Wolverhampton to know what exactly is going on (see link here).

Although they applied for and distributed Red Route funding across the region, they haven’t been consulted.

What’s more, members of the Authority are suggesting that the government, which ultimately provided the cash, might want it back – meaning that Wolverhampton taxpayers are could be out of pocket.

When we contacted the Council’s new leader Neville Patten, he was noticeably more restrained about the issue than last week, saying:  “We have to leave it to the Scrutiny Committee to make a recommendation when they have collected all the data.

"They will then make a recommendation to the Cabinet, who'll make the decision - probably in July.

"Until then, I can't make a comment."

Join the discussion on The Stirrer Forum