Leeds Trolleybus Enquiry Day 29
June 24 2014
Day 29 saw the completion by
Professor Peter Bonsall of his marathon
cross examination of Mr Neil Chadwick who is responsible for the NGT
business case. In the sessions following
cross examinations were made by representatives of The Federation of Small
Businesses, Weetwood Residents (affiliated to the North West Leeds Transport
Forum, and West Park Resident’s Association) as well as private objector Mr
Malcolm Bell.
Here are the links for audio
recordings of the day’s sessions, and commentary follows below.
In the first morning session of
day 29 of the Trolleybus Public Enquiry, June 24 2014, Professor Peter Bonsall
continues with his cross examination of Mr Neil Chadwick on the business case
for NGT.
In the late morning session of day
29 of the Trolleybus Public Enquiry, June 24 2014, Professor Peter Bonsall
concludes his cross examination of Mr Neil Chadwick on the business case for
NGT.
In the early afternoon session of
day 29 of the Trolleybus Public Enquiry June 24 2014, Chris Longley of the
Federation of Small Businesses cross examines Mr Neil Chadwick on the impact of
the implementation of the NGT scheme on small businesses along the route.
In the late afternoon session of
day 29 of the Leeds Trolleybus Public Enquiry, June 24, 2014, several objectors
cross examine Mr Neil Chadwick on the business case for the NGT trolleybus.
As I am rather pressed for time
this evening I shall pass you over to Chris Todd whose comments I have availed
myself of previously.
*
In
his evidence Neil Chadwick was rather coy about his role in the Edinburgh tram
fiasco, but see the attached upbeat comments he made in The Scotsman on
October 20, 2001 . His firm was at the centre, when it came to selling the
project.
[This
is frightening ~ C]
Like
Claire, I do wish Mr Chadwick would use the conditional “would” rather than the
future “will” to describe what should happen after the inquiry. By using the
future tense, he suggesting perhaps unwittingly that there can be no doubt that
NGT will get a favorable decision from the minister.
After
a rather unreal discussion of train passengers wanting to move to NGT, simply
because a trolleybus was perceived as superior to a train – an assertion
apparently made by Mott MacDonald, and from which Mr Chadwick was anxious to
dissociate himself – he repeatedly stressed that “a whole raft of things of
things will change” once the minister has (sic) approved the scheme and the
promoter then makes an application for conditional approval. If various
important matters had not yet been tested properly, this will be done so then,
but, apparently, this is fine and everything is generally in order since the
DFT approved programme entry. If such important work still remains to be done,
and there are further changes to be brought it, one wonders just how much the
scheme will finally resemble what was in theory the subject of public
consultation, let alone a public inquiry.
It
is now clear that they are counting on an annual surplus to cover the cost of
the scheme (maintenance and renewal, etc.). So the local tax payer will be just
an vulnerable there, as in the construction of the scheme itself. Mr Chadwick
said this was what happened in Manchester . Does any one know what happens in
Sheffield and Nottingham where the tram schemes are both running at a loss?
Towards
the end of the exhaustive questioning by Peter Bonsall, Neil Chadwick remarked
that there was much more discussion of detail here than he had seen in other
inquiries. It makes one wonder what they have been getting away with elsewhere!
In
yesterday’s Yorkshire Post, there was a article and a video interview with
councillor Richard Lewis on the new Park and Ride at Elland Road , and the one
planned for the Aire valley
Apparently,
the Elland Road site “had a slow start to life, with just 30 or so of its
spaces filled at one stage”. No mention, of course, of why these schemes might
fail (unofficial park and ride in our streets, or the over-abundance of
city-centre parking spaces, etc.). I checked the TomTom this evening, and there
seems to be just as much congestion on the roads to the motorways as ever.
Why
do our local media all too often sound like mere outlets for council
propaganda. Still nothing on the inquiry since April 29. The Yorkshire Post
article simply ends “Two more park-and-rides will be constructed at Lawnswood
and Stourton if Leeds 's trolleybus system wins approval.”
Prof Chris Todd
*
Am
I alone in thinking about all the failed banks which have been bailed out by
governments when I read the article about SDG and Mott MacDonald and think
about the nightmare that they were responsible for inflicting on Edinburgh? How can these companies continue to be used
when they have manifestly failed? And
yet they come back in another attempt to suck our cities dry of funds while destroying them. Is this mere incompetence, both on the part
of these consultancies, and the city councils who so mistakenly have followed
their Pied Piper tune, or are they deliberately taking gullible cities for a ride
on their disastrous plans?
The roads and transport lobbies will do anything to persuade us we need them ~ remember that both Councillors Lewis have admitted that this is '90% a roads scheme' ~ so the lie about this being a public transport scheme is transparent.
They have in
the past suckered their marks through their beguiling spin, but now that they are
being closely examined the sham and shambolic nature of their plans is being exposed
and we do not have to buy their snake oil.
CC
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