'Black' plans ditched
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THE GOVERNMENT has abandoned plans to finance the so-called Black Country route privately.
Transport Minister Lynda Chalker has announced that the proposals for private financing of the scheme were "not acceptable." The route would provide an 11km (seven-mile) dual carriageway linking from Junction 10 on the M6 to the A4123 Birmingham New Road at a cost of £49m.
Mrs Chalker said that if the West Midlands County Council gave the scheme priority, she would regard it as a "major feature in determining the level of the council's Transport Supplementary Grant."
She promised that if part of the route was started this year, it would be accepted as a commitment by the Government.
The County Council, together with Tarmac, National Westminster Bank and Saturn Management, had put forward a proposal for private funding, which would have involved the Government paying 70 per cent of the final cost, even before contracts were signed and any private finance became involved. The proposals would not have allowed for competitive bidding and the Department decided that the arrangements contained unacceptable financial uncertainty and risk.
But Mrs Chalker made clear that the Government would support any application to the European Regional Development Fund for support for the scheme.