MPs will take Metrolink fight to the top

The fight to extend the Metrolink tram service to Oldham and Rochdale will go right to the top, leading figures from organisations in the two boroughs were told.

Lorna Fitzsimons, MP for Rochdale, said the region's MPs would put party differences aside and unite to make sure that the Chancellor and the Prime Minister were fully informed of the strength of the economic and political case for Phase 3 of Metrolink.

And she called on local people throughout Greater Manchester - especially those in business - to write to their local MP in support of the Metrolink campaign.

"We want Ministers to come back from their summer holidays to find their boxes overflowing with letters of support for the Metrolink extension," she said.

"Make your letters personal and explain how failing to approve the Metrolink extension would affect your life, your business and the economy of the area. We need to put forward a strong economic and political case to make sure we get the right outcome."

Ms Fitzsimons was speaking at a meeting in Rochdale Town Hall attended by more than 60 leading figures from local organisations and the business community from Oldham and Rochdale as well as leading councillors and council officers.

She said the announcement by Transport Secretary Alistair Darling two weeks ago that Phase 3 of Metrolink would not be approved because there were concerns about spiralling costs had come as a shock to MPs and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority.

She believed the Department for Transport had "got stuck in the tramlines of a transport mentality" and failed to see the implications for investment in regenerating the region.

The Government now has to be shown that there is great public support for extending Metrolink, that the investment is worthwhile, and that it provides good value for public money, she said.

Councillor Roger Jones, chair of the Passenger Transport Authority, said the authority had already put together a new way to finance the Metrolink extension that would remove obstacles to approval of Phase 3.

The extension of Metrolink was not just about improving public transport, it was also about regenerating large areas of Greater Manchester. It was important that the campaign for Metrolink got that important message across to the highest level of Government.

The Passenger Transport Authority was fighting not just for the Oldham and Rochdale extension but for the whole of the Phase 3 plans, which also include extending the tram service east to Ashton-under-Lyne and through south Manchester to the Airport.

Mr Geoff Inskip, Deputy Director General of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, said the Government was being asked to invest about a £1 billion to bring a benefit to Greater Manchester worth the same amount each year. In business terms, it was a great deal.

Mr John Hudson, Chief Executive of Rochdale Development Agency, said Metrolink was the thread that linked together massive investment projects in Oldham and Rochdale, including improvements to town centres, the development of Kingsway business park, and the investment of many millions in transforming neighbourhoods through the Oldham Rochdale Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder Project.

Metrolink would also provide links between the two boroughs and the job opportunities available in Manchester city centre and at the Airport.

Councillor John Johnson, Deputy Leader of Oldham Council, said there had been no hint in advance of the "bombshell" decision taken by Alistair Darling and that "the economics of halting Metrolink don't make any sense."

He said that all parties would unite to campaign for the Metrolink extension along with the wider public and private sectors. But he said the message should also go out to the world that "Oldham and Rochdale are still open for business and regeneration."

Councillor Shah Wazir, Deputy Leader of Rochdale Council, said the area could accept the decision or could fight to change it.

"We have to fight because there is too much at stake," he said. The private sector would need to play a leading role in persuading the Government to change its decision.

If you want to write to your MP about Metrolink, their addresses are:

Lorna Fitzsimons, MP for Rochdale:
81 Durham Street, Rochdale, OL11 1LR.

Jim Dobbin, MP for Heywood & Middleton:
45 York Street, Heywood, OL10 4NN.

Phil Woolas, MP for Oldham East & Saddleworth:
Lord Chambers, 11 Church Lane, Oldham, OL1 3AN