After Green and Conservative councillors united to vote through a five-year plan for road works in Valley Gardens, Labour has renewed its pledge to suspend and review the scheme if elected at the local elections in May.
THE council will have to meet 25% of the project costs and Labour claim the Greens only won funding from the Government’s Local Enterprise Partnership by claiming cross party support for the project which Labour say they had not given.
Councillor Warren Morgan, Leader of the Labour and Co-operative Group, said “We have very real concerns about the open-ended way this project is being funded. If cycle lanes and footpaths are needed in Valley Gardens and the Old Steine, then there ought to be a way of providing them that does not involve removing the Mazda Fountain, the Aquarium Roundabout and two lanes of traffic at a cost of over £18 million.”
“It is shocking that the Tories are supporting this Green scheme that will mean five more years of city centre road works and take millions of pounds out of the council’s already depleted transport budget, needed to repair the ailing seafront. There is no money identified to maintain the huge new park that will be created. As with the i360, which they also supported, this scheme exposes the council to huge financial risks.”
Labour has asked that no contracts are signed and no further money spent on the scheme until after May’s local elections.
Cllr Geoffrey Theobald, Leader of the Conservative Group, said: “It just beggars belief that Labour is still intent on returning £14 million of funding to the Government for the sake of trying to pick up a handful of disgruntled Green voters in May. But their blatant opportunism goes beyond jeopardising a positive scheme that promises to transform Valley Gardens into an attractive public space which is much easier to navigate for private cars, buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians. Labour’s stance would also destroy our credibility with the Local Enterprise Partnership who awarded us the funding and would seriously jeopardise our reputation as a place to do business just at the time when confidence is returning amongst potential investors in Brighton & Hove. Labour should hang their heads in shame. They should also stop misleading residents that the current proposals will mean changes to the Aquarium Roundabout and the fountain at the Old Steine – they won’t.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.