Archived press release

Government can't pay for Newbury Bypass

14 March 1996

On the eve of the deadline for the submission of tenders to build the Newbury bypass, it has been revealed that the Government's Highways Agency has run out of money and can't pay for the construction of the controversial road. The industry magazine Contract Journal' said today that"contractors reacted bitterly to the news".

The Agency's cash crisis means that there will be an 18 million upper limit on payments to contractors during the first year of work. A senior industry figure said "Newbury bidders are effectively being told any work done above 18 million will be paid late" and are being asked "once again to shoulder the effects of the Agency's financial problems".

Contract Journal said that the "winning contractor would be forced to subsidise construction costs for at least the first year". Other industry sources added that the cash shortage would be the "last straw" for some Newbury bidders, described the contract as a "poisoned chalice" and said that some of the firms might "throw in the towel at this point".

The Agency's money shortage coincides with news that Newbury District Council will shortly unveil its "Head and Heart" vision statement on reducing congestion in the town. The statement recognises that the bypass will not solve the town's transport problems and calls for the kind of integrated transport planning recommended by Friends of the Earth. The Newbury Weekly News reported today that "The plan depends on Department of Transport money, and the Head and Heart' document will form part of the Council's bid for funding to be made this summer".

Tony Juniper, Deputy Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth, said:

"The country is footing the bill for a road that will not work and that it cannot afford. Newbury's traffic problems arise principally from a massive volume of local traffic that the bypass will not reduce. Sensible alternatives like cycling walking and public transport can provide long term solutions at a fraction of the cost of this destructive road and should be tried before concrete is poured on protected countryside".

ENDS

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust