§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is his latest estimate of the tonnages of freight which would be carried on the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation if this canal were improved as the British Waterways Board proposes;
(2) what is his estimate of the costs which would be incurred by the British Waterways Board if the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation were either downgraded or left in its present category;
(3) what estimated cash return would have to be achieved to allow him to approve the proposal to improve the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation; and if this assessment has a similar basis to that which applies to road and rail investment.
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§ Mr. Denis HowellThe British Waterways Board estimates that arrears of maintenance on this waterway amount to about £1.5 million. If the waterway were downgraded to cruising status this would be reduced to about £1.1 million. The additional investment involved in the improvement scheme is put at about £4.3 million.
There is, of course, considerable uncertainty about the traffic which would be attracted to an improved waterway, but my Department estimates that it might amount to about 1.15 million tons built up over a period of some five years. This uncertainty makes it necessary to consider the proposal against the more stringent criteria appropriate for high-risk projects, where an enhanced DCF return would normally be expected on the additional investment. Account would, however, be taken of environmental and other non-quantifiable factors.
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London Equalisation Scheme General Rate Contributions (-) Poundage Rating Authority Levied Receipts(+) Equivalent p £m. p City of London … … … 70.09 -11.0 5.00 Camden … … … 79.68 -5.4 5.00 Greenwich … … … 68.12 -1.8 5.00 Hackney … … … 62.00 -1.7 5.00 Hammersmith … … … 62.41 -1.7 5.00 Islington … … … 68.40 -2.3 5.00 Kensington and Chelsea … … … 56.20 -3.3 5.00 Lembeth … … … 67.81 -2.7 5.00 Lewisham … … … 65.62 -2.1 5.00 Southwark … … … 75.25 -2.4 5.00 Tower Hamlets … … … 74.64 -2.0 5.00 Wandsworth … … … 62.83 -2.5 5.00 Westminster … … … 67.60 -15.0 5.00 Barking … … … 79.50 +2.9 11.01 Barnet … … … 64.25 +3.1 5.53 Bexley … … … 71.50 +2.5 6.60 Brent … … … 75.77 +4.4 8.93 Bromley … … … 76.49 +3.4 6.61 Croydon … … … 69.03 +2.7 4.17 Ealing … … … 78.12 +3.0 5.65 Enfield … … … 69.79 +3.0 6.45 Haringey … … … 83.03 +4.5 11.44 Harrow … … … 75.08 +2.3 6.59 Havering … … … 73.78 +2.7 6.50 Hillingdon … … … 76.88 +1.2 2.15 Hounslow … … … 75.26 +1.2 2.53 Kingston-upon-Thames … … … 72.90 +1.2 4.48 Merton … … … 75.20 +2.0 6.67 Newham … … … 4.50 +4.4 11.57 Redbridge … … … 70.50 +2.7 6.61 Richmond-upon-Thames … … … 73.30 +1.9 6.66 Sutton … … … 72.38 +1.9 6.47 Waltham Forest … … … 79.20 +2.6 6.77 Averages: Innter London … … … 69.22 -53.6 5.0 Outer London … … … 74.82 +53.6 6.4 Greater London … … … 70.90 — — As for the basis of assessment for road and rail investment, I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on Tuesday 18th May 1976 to my hon. Friend the Member for Newham, South (Mr. Spearing).