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Proposed Poole Bridge

It is my privilege to introduce this debate. I have the privilege of representing the borough of Poole—or, at least, two thirds of it, as a third is in the constituency of the hon. Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole (Annette Brooke). Poole is a successful and vibrant place, but it does not always have the infrastructure that it deserves on the basis of its growth over the last decade. I have always been aware of certain problems with infrastructure in the borough. My constituency is divided, in that Hamworthy is virtually an island, linked to the hon. Lady's constituency in Upton, and the rest of the borough is separated by water, linked by a lifting bridge that was built in 1926 which does a reasonable job for most of the year. As the port of Poole is in Hamworthy—the port is the second or third in the south-west—an awful lot of traffic has to go over that small bridge through the borough or, indeed, up the Blandford road through Upton in the adjoining constituency. Through a number of schemes over the years, the local authority—a good one, with good officers and good members—has tried to improve the borough's infrastructure, improve communication with the port and take advantage of the fact that it a beautiful place. A great deal of land is under-used, next to water, and it could become an area for development. When I was first elected, there was a proposal in the national road scheme for a bridge over the A350. It was to be quite an expensive project, and it did not survive the first cull of projects by the new Government. That left Poole with the problem of what to do. Two or three years after that, the council produced a new proposal for a second lifting bridge, called the twin sails project, which would link Hamworthy with West Quay road and allow a large redevelopment of parts of the south of Hamworthy, where there was an old power station site, providing a tremendous opportunity for waterside development. The proposal would not be a complete answer to the transport problems, but it would certainly help my constituents in Hamworthy, because the 1926 lifting bridge takes substantial maintenance. It is sometimes closed in the summer months for two or three weeks and my constituents in Hamworthy spend a considerable time driving through the constituency of the hon. Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole in order to get to the main part of the borough. A journey that should be five minutes can sometimes be a journey of half an hour, which is greatly to the disadvantage of my constituents. The borough produced a lifting bridge scheme and the Government's initial reaction was that they were not going to pay for it, as it should be a private finance initiative. The project was delayed while the council, under the leadership of Brian Clements and Jim Brooks, the then chief executive, looked into the PFI prospects, but decided that it would not be possible. There was a prospect of quite substantial private sector funding for the development, so we put in a bid to the Department for Transport for a grant. That was progressed, and in one of the bid procedures the Government said that they were willing to put £14.14 million into the scheme. The entire project will cost about £37 million and the balance of the funds will come from the development of housing, businesses and other sites in lower Hamworthy. The design is exciting. It is to be a twin sails lifting bridge, and we have now gone through all the permissions and agreements. Twelve months ago, when early delivery of the scheme was looking a little difficult in the prevailing economic circumstances, the council took the brave decision to secure a £10 million loan from the regional infrastructure fund for that priority project. By the end of November 2009, the council put itself in the position of advising the Department for Transport that the scheme had been tendered and that procurement could commence immediately, subject to the approval of the grant. All the signs from the Department for Transport were positive. All the way through the project, the signs from the Government office for the south-west were also positive, and the council arranged a special meeting in the first week of January in order to proceed with the project and the approvals. We all know that the country's economic situation has changed somewhat, and that there will be pressures on whoever is in government after the next general election. Nevertheless, we were a little disappointed that we did not get our permissions. The Department for Transport was considering its overall capital programme, and as I understand it, referred our project to the Treasury. That is where we have been stuck for a couple of months. Because tenders have come in, because all the permissions are in place and because works have already been scheduled, every bit of delay adds extra cost. Moreover, there comes a point at which, if the delay is too long, the viability of the project, the permissions and so forth starts to run out. It is therefore important for us to secure a decision as soon as possible. There is no doubt that this is an exciting project which will create many new homes and jobs. The intention is to use the bridge as a focus for regeneration. It is expected to deliver more than 2,000 homes—including affordable housing—and 5,000 jobs, and to generate an estimated value of more than £600 million for the local economy. The £14 million grant—I should emphasise that that is the amount for which we bid originally, and that it is therefore well within the envelope—will generate a fair amount of VAT and other tax for the Treasury, as well as stamp duty. I can assure anyone from the Treasury who may be watching this debate that this project would constitute a big positive if permission were given and we could get on with it. The council has already invested some £8 million in local resources, and that, along with the funding plans, agreements and permissions, may be put at risk unless we can proceed with the project. Poole is an ambitious town, whether under the Liberal Democrat administration of Brian Clements or the present Conservative administration of Brian Leverett. All our leaders are called Brian, incidentally. Everyone in local government really wants to get the town moving. They all want development, and the bridge would involve the redevelopment and regeneration of Lower Hamworthy. It presents a real opportunity for the borough, and would set it in the right direction for the next 10 years. The local authority participated in the multi-area agreement, and was the first to submit a local investment plan to the Homes and Communities Agency. The plan refers specifically to the regeneration area. The local authority officers, being keen followers of Government policy, noted the speech made the other day by the Minister of State, Department for Transport, the right hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan) on the Government's policy on the future of urban transport, which is contained in a consultation paper. A meeting took place at 1 Whitehall Place, at which the Minister of State spoke. The Government's strategy proposes the redirection of existing innovation funding and sustainable funding, as well as the top-slicing of existing regional funds. The Government's overall message is "More value for your money, but probably less money." The twin sails project that we are promoting in Poole conforms with much of what the Minister spoke about the other day. The bridge will support the redevelopment of brownfield and under-utilised sites; it will help Poole to secure the new industries and jobs that are being promoted; it will join an isolated community with the town, creating new social, health, employment and education opportunities; homes and jobs created through the regeneration will have better access to public transport; and 50 per cent. fewer car-based journeys will be required. The bridge has been designed specifically to promote cycling and walking. There will be level access from the quayside and dedicated road space for cyclists, and an "art strip" to enhance the walking experience. The regeneration will open up new waterfront, and will include high-quality public realm including areas designed for walking. Everything that the authority is doing is consistent with what the Government have been pushing for over the years. This project is exciting and vital for my constituents, but we find it a little frustrating that permission has not yet been given. I have talked to various Ministers in the Tea Room, in the corridors and behind the Speaker's Chair whenever I have had the opportunity to do so, and have tried to impress on them the urgent need for a decision. I hope that the Minister will tell us that one is imminent. I cannot stress too strongly that the decision must be made soon, so that we can get on with this important project. We know that there are still difficulties ahead for the British economy, and this project accords very well with an agenda for its recovery. A relatively small amount of public money is needed, supplemented by private money, in order to secure an investment of £600 million and transform part of my constituency, providing homes and jobs that we need and generating tax that the country needs. I hope that the Minister will be able at least to reassure us that the Department for Transport loves our scheme, and will do all that he can to persuade the Treasury to make a decision as a matter of urgency so that we can deliver for Poole a first-rate scheme for a first-rate borough and a first-rate local authority.