David Ottewell's Politics

Sneak preview of today’s newspaper story. The opposition council leaders are keen to stress that the government isn’t providing new money – simply letting Manchester borrow and bring forward payments for which they would otherwise have had to wait many years. In other words, they don’t want Geoff Hoon taking all the credit for a locally-conceived, locally-brokered deal.
The government will today give its backing for a £1.4bn transport package for Greater Manchester that will finally see the completion of the Metrolink ‘Big Bang’.
Transport secretary Geoff Hoon will travel to the city to give the green light to the deal, which could create 21,000 jobs.
The deal, package, agreed by the leaders of Greater Manchester’s 10 councils yesterday, is being seen as a Plan B after a bid for nearly £3bn from the government’s transport innovation fund was rejected in a referendum last year.
That cash would have come with the condition that the region imposed ‘stick’ of a peak-hour congestion charge of up to £5 a day. The new package will not have that condition attached.
The cash for the deal will be based on borrowing against small long-term increases in council tax – around £2 per person per year – and the government bringing forward money the region would otherwise have had to wait several years to get.
The package means funding will be available for:
*Metrolink extensions to Chorlton, Manchester Airport, and Rochdale and Oldham town centres
*A Stockport bypass linking the airport and the A6
*The Mottram by-pass
*A guided busway between Leigh and Manchester
*The Wigan inner relief road
*Increased park-and-ride facilities across Greater Manchester
*And a ‘cross-city’ bus package, with better and more frequent routes through the city centre
Around £700m of the money will come from two sources. One is borrowing against increases in the part of council tax bills that goes to the region’s Integrated Transport Authority.
The ITA’s levy will go up by three per cent in each of the next six years, and remain at those levels. That equates to around £2 per person per year. The councils will borrow against the money those long-term increases will bring in.
The other is so-called ‘top-slicing’ of the individual council’s grants from government for transport schemes. Each council will agree to hand over 40 per cent of this money to help fund the package.
The government will also allow Greater Manchester to receive all at once, the cash it would otherwise have had to wait for over a number of years. That will be worth just under £200m.
Further money will be raised from future revenues of the expanded Metrolink system, while the airport – owned by the 10 councils – will contribute towards its new tram line.
The government will provide around £165m for the Stockport by-pass.
Others parts of the TIF package – included increased yellow buses for schools, and smartcards allowing travel on different types of public transport – are not included in the new scheme.
John Leech, MP for Manchester Withington, described the package as great news for south Manchester.
Oldham council leader Howard Sykes, who lobbied his colleagues to include the Oldham town centre Metrolink extension, said: “To finally get trams running down Union Street is simply fantastic news.
“In terms of economic development and prosperity, this will act as a catalyst, creating new jobs and, delivering essential new infrastructure that will put Oldham on the map.”
It will also enable us to realise our dreams of forging a new leisure economy that can transform the town centre.”