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£45 million East Lancashire bus lane 'may not happen'

4:00pm Saturday 27th February 2010 in


THE deputy leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council says he fears a major £45million transport scheme will “never happen” – after a snub by a Government minister.

The flagship Pennine Reach project, designed to link up Darwen, Blackburn and Accrington via a high-speed bus route, was set to be rubber-stamped by Transport Secretary Lord Adonis earlier this month.

But it has emerged that the scheme, which would see dedicated bus lanes built between the three towns, is still sat on the minister’s desk, prompting critics to question whether it will ever become a reality as cash-strapped Government mandarins prepare to make cuts.

Tony Melia, leader of the For Darwen party and deputy council leader, said: “It seems as if the Government has run out of money and programmes like this will run out of funds. For that reason, I don’t think Pennine Reach will ever happen – I think it will be chopped.

“It will be a blow for Blackburn, Darwen and Accrington but my view is that the scheme was never right and we should have gone for a tram system.”

Funding to the tune of £45million for the long-awaited Pennine Reach project was provisionally approved in 2006, although Secretary of State backing is also needed before work can begin.

That needed to come this month if, as planned, work was to start in Spring 2011, with the scheme completed in 2014.

Council chiefs behind Pennine Reach say passengers would get a faster, more efficient service with ‘through ticketing’ to make multiple journeys cheaper.

The project would also see a special ‘hub’ or mini-bus station set up in the Ewood area of Blackburn.

However, critics have argued that Pennine Reach would create traffic chaos and pollution down the A666.

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said a decision had yet to be made by the Secretary of State.

Coun Alan Cottam, Blackburn with Darwen Council executive member with responsilbity for transport, was unavailable for comment.

Comments(18)

A Darener says...
4:28pm Sat 27 Feb 10

Yipee! great, fantastic, brilliant, put the flags out, three cheers, hip hip hooray. Which ever way you say it what a great day for common sense and the will of the people if this monsterous scheme is finally dead and buried.

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NICEONESUNSHINE says...
5:01pm Sat 27 Feb 10

Totally agree with you pal, a reason to be cheerful. Good riddance to a scheme that nobody wanted and was a total waste of money

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bossindian says...
6:19pm Sat 27 Feb 10

Awww.....better go and buy my second car back.....anybody want to buy a bus pass....only £45 million ;o)

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past it says...
6:31pm Sat 27 Feb 10

Brill news, no fighting for car parking, shops will stay open. Now BwD sort out the traffic systems that you cocked up, so that you could get your'e sticky fingers on the money in the first place.

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Michael@ClitheroeSince58 says...
9:19pm Sat 27 Feb 10

If the New Soviets get power again trust me this grand plan will begin again.

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artois says...
10:56pm Sat 27 Feb 10

Quote Melia
“It will be a blow for Blackburn, Darwen and Accrington but my view is that the scheme was never right one and we should have gone for a tram system.”

erm was this the guy that had a poster in his shop window against the bus lane yet voted for it?

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Noiticer says...
9:57am Sun 28 Feb 10

Let's hear what the opponents of the bus scheme propose instead - more roads and cars? Logic dictates that more roads and cars are a perfect recipe for disaster. If we were living in the USA or many countries in Europe the solution would have been a light rapid transit scheme with trams. Yes, even in the USA cities have realised the error of their ways and are building dozens of these systems as I write. The UK is living in a transport Dark Age and Labour's transport policies have been pathetic. As for the Tories - they will be probably even worse ! What a useless country we live in.

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1riversider says...
11:03am Sun 28 Feb 10

We already have a raid transit system in place - it's called the railway! Why not improve this?

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burner says...
5:15pm Sun 28 Feb 10

Let's just make it easy for everyone. Get rid of all the buses and get rid of every cyclist.

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whirlingdervish says...
12:59pm Mon 1 Mar 10

oh deary me. first bwdc buy a wine bar adjacent to the museum for half a million pounds of council money,hoping for a grant to build a super museum which was knocked back.now they have bought and demolished the printers pub on accy road for a bus lane that will never be.

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whirlingdervish says...
12:59pm Mon 1 Mar 10

oh deary me. first bwdc buy a wine bar adjacent to the museum for half a million pounds of council money,hoping for a grant to build a super museum which was knocked back.now they have bought and demolished the printers pub on accy road for a bus lane that will never be.

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A Darener says...
1:19pm Mon 1 Mar 10

Teach us to complain about the bus lane.
As soon as it is rejected by the Government the powers that be in Blackburn try to get revenge by causing as much road chaos as they can.

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CapitaBackHander says...
6:43pm Mon 1 Mar 10

WOW that would be great news if confirmed. How much did it cost to create that fake phone poll, all the plans e.t.c - BUNCH OF INCOMPETENT LYING FOOLS!
Anyone who thinks a tram system would be better is a BIGGER FOOL! Unless you are employed by Stagecoach. Why would a fixed system be better - just look at Manchester and the surrounding areas that are getting ripped up so that Stagecoach can make a massive profit. If you can fit a tram in place then a decent bus lane (not taking car road space up) could be created. Neither could fit in Darwen so the alternative is to improve the railways.

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banjo's at ewood says...
7:00pm Mon 1 Mar 10

I don't believe it.There's someone in the Government with sense. Lets wait until there's confirmation.

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R Duluth says...
8:58pm Mon 1 Mar 10

Blackburn Council will now have to find new ways to snarl up traffic in order to make shopping trips out of Blackburn as difficult as shopping in Blackburn

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Ian the Beancounter says...
10:14pm Mon 1 Mar 10

Hot air balloons!That's the answer. A series of landing areas (car parks) where the no.7 balloon can land and take on passengers. Strategically placed landing areas between Darwen & Blackburn could be used without further development (Ewood Park, for example, or the Anchor Ground on non-match days), with the terminus being the top floor of the multi-storey car park in Blackburn. Sorted! "Genius" accolade to me!

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A Darener says...
10:47am Tue 2 Mar 10

Ian the Beancounter wrote:
Hot air balloons!That's the answer. A series of landing areas (car parks) where the no.7 balloon can land and take on passengers. Strategically placed landing areas between Darwen & Blackburn could be used without further development (Ewood Park, for example, or the Anchor Ground on non-match days), with the terminus being the top floor of the multi-storey car park in Blackburn. Sorted! "Genius" accolade to me!
Pure Genius! They could be filled with all the hot air spouted in the Town Hall, Blackburn & Darwen. Give the new Darwen council a reason to exist.

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lestat_B says...
5:59am Thu 11 Mar 10

How sad. Since people need bus lane for safety. It seems that President Obama is going to spend most of his first term appointing people, and having them confirmed. His pick for the head of the TSA, or Transportation Security Administration, Robert Harding is a good pick though. He's a retired Army General, he served in the Defense Intelligence Agency (the military counterpart to the CIA) and he's made more than a few <a rev="vote for" title="Obama picks Robert A. Harding for TSA" href="http://persona
lmoneystore.com/Payd
ay-Loans/ ">payday loans</a> worth with his own private security agency. Let us hope this guy is able to head off incidents like the Underwear Bomber – it seems the ball got dropped pretty hard with that little incident.

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