Salisbury likely to miss out on £1.3m transport funding

A low traffic zone and experimental traffic order limiting vehicle movements in the city centre was suspended, after businesses and council leaders withdrew support for the People Friendly Streets plan last year.

But the city's MP, John Glen, has called for a grant of £1.3 million from the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP) to be spent as planned.

The money had been set aside for complementary measures linked to - but separate from - the rest of the People Friendly scheme.

Why MP still believes money should be granted

In a letter to the leader of Wiltshire Council, Philip Whitehead, and the CEO of the SWLEP, Paddy Bradley, Mr Glen said his constituents "are fully expecting there to be significant investment from both the SWLEP and Wiltshire Council in the bulk of the complementary measures of the People Friendly Streets project as outlined in the Full Business Case prepared by Atkins on September 2, 2020".

The MP believes the wider People Friendly project was halted largely due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the complications of the second national lockdown in November coinciding with the new city traffic rules.

Mr Glen wrote to Cllr Whitehead and Mr Bradley in December last year, "strongly urging" them to continue the funding, after the scheme was indefinitely suspended in November.

He has renewed his calls for the funding to still be used in Salisbury before an upcoming meeting of the SWLEP.

But both Cllr Whitehead and Mr Bradley say the money - which central Government says must be spent by March 2021 - cannot be granted without the wider traffic scheme in place.

'Clear and unambiguous statements'

Mr Glen points to statements in the original documents which supports the idea Salisbury should still get the funding.

On page eight of the Atkins business case, it says: “Additional complementary measures will be introduced external to and not dependent on the ETRO (experimental traffic regulation order).”

On page 20, it also says: "Additional to the traffic restrictions are a series of measures which are to be complementary to the scheme.

"These are not dependent on the success of the ETRO and will be delivered regardless of the success of the ETRO.”

Mr Glen added: "In the light of clear and unambiguous statements of the independence of the complementary measures from the ETRO, my constituents and I are looking to Wiltshire Council and the SWLEP to continue demonstrating their commitment to funding these measures.

"I am particularly concerned that the refurbishment of Culver Street car park and the investments in eCycle hire, cycling parking, repair stations, Shopmobility and wayfinding improvements continue as originally envisaged.

"Salisbury should not miss out on wider investments in the public realm and improvements to the local economy due to an experimental traffic regulation order effectively becoming unviable due to the pandemic."

'SWLEP board supports the project'

Paddy Bradley, who is CEO of SWLEP, said discussions have taken place between the SWLEP, Cllr Whitehead, and the leadership of Salisbury City Council.

He said the board's view is that the grant was dependent on all parts of the People Friendly project.

The SWLEP Board supports the full project and approved the business case in its entirety, which provided "good value for money", he said.

He added: "The Board was supportive of the need to test an approach and amend the proposed solution based on real-time application and collection of data.

"The implementation of the ETRO over an 18 month period was seen as essential to achieving the overall aims of the project."

In this case, says Mr Bradley, the ETRO and the complementary measures are linked.

The benefit cost ratio and the value for money judgement were based on the implementation of both parts of the project.

He added: "Implementing only part would be against the principles of our decision-making process and would set a precedent, which would put at risk the integrity of the Board’s role in adhering to the principles of good governance.

"Although Atkins wrote in their report that the complimentary measures could be implemented independently of the ETRO, the objective of the business case was to implement both aspects and this is what the Board approved.

"The SWLEP Board is faced with the need, defined by central Government, to ensure all Local Growth Deal funding is spent by March 31 2021.

"The Board will be asked to make its final decision on the funding for the People Friendly Salisbury project at its meeting on January 28.

"It will be able to take into account its continuing support for the project, a potential way forward for partners to pursue a refreshed scheme at a later date, current spend on the project and an appraisal of the likelihood of Wiltshire Council being able to spend £900k by March 31 if it lifted the suspension and carried on with the implementation of the project as defined in the full business case."

Wiltshire Council leader's view

Wiltshire Council leader Philip Whitehead said the problem is "very simple".

The business cases proposed to the SWLEP are signed off as a whole, and that you cannot then implement part of a proposal and spend LEP money, in his view.

You have to implement the whole of the proposal that supports the business case.

Cllr Whitehead added: "The Complementary Measures were signed off as one and some of those measures need the PFS to be in place to enable them to be implemented.

"As PFS is currently suspended this cannot happen.

"Normally this would be ok, and we would have time, but in this case the monies have to be spent by March 2021, a date outside our control and no longer achievable.

"I could not represent Wiltshire Council and say to the LEP that the business case signed off was achievable by March 2021."

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