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BRUM DEMO HAS IMPACT
BRAKE PUT ON ROAD PRICING
ROAD pricing will not come to Birmingham in the near future after councillors agreed to put proposals to charge motorists on ice.
It means Manchester is likely to be the Government's guinea pig for controversial congestion charging schemes.
But it also means Birmingham could miss out on promised funding of up to £2 billion for public transport.
Leaders of local authorities in Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country yesterday met and decided not to submit a proposal to the Department for Transport.
The decision was made despite spending an estimated £4.1 million so far on research into how road pricing may work in practice.
Chris Crean, West Midlands spokesman for Friends of the Earth, branded the £4.1 million cost as "a waste of public money for no decision".
He added: "It is very worrying we can embark on a process in which so much public money is spent and there has been no agreement at the outset that we will come up with a bid to take the process further."
Councillors left open the option of putting together plans later in the year following more consultation, but the delay means the West Midlands will not be in the first wave of road pricing schemes.
The Government had asked local authorities to submit proposals by the end of this month.
A variety of different schemes had been considered for the West Midlands, including charging motorists up to £5 a day to drive into city centres.
The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities is considering charging drivers £2 to enter the area enclosed by the M60, and a further £1 to enter Manchester city centre.
The decision was welcomed by Black Country MP John Spellar (Lab, Warley).
He said: "This is welcome news. The proposals were highly flawed and were not good for the public or the business community.
"There should be a wider rethink of whether this is the right way to go. The councils have made the right decision, as reflected by public opinion."
But Sir Albert Bore, leader of the opposition Labour group on Birmingham City Council, said the region would now lose out on much-needed funding.
"The money will go to Manchester or Cambridgeshire. Birmingham will lose out on this investment because other people got their act together," he said.
The Government invited councils to draw up road pricing schemes which could eventually be extended across the whole country.
In return, councils would receive cash from the Transport Innovation Fund to improve bus and other public transport services, such as the Metro.
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