Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
In respect of the recently announced award of £65 million for the proposed Cambridge-St Ives-Huntingdon guided bus scheme, what is the total amount of finance required for the scheme; how much of the award is from grant; how much is authorised local authority borrowing; how much is contingent upon the local authority obtaining finance from its own sources; and whether the Government have given permission for the additional expenditure, as announced by Cambridgeshire County Council last week. [HL970]
§ Lord Davies of OldhamThe estimated capital cost of the scheme is £73.5 million. The department in the 2004–05 local transport settlement provisionally agreed to provide a maximum contribution of £65 million. The exact split of the department's contribution will not be finalised until the scheme receives full approval. At present funding for major public transport schemes is split equally between grant120WA and borrowing approvals. Cambridge County Council (CCC) and the Government Office for the Eastern Region expect to secure the remaining capital funds from private developers through Section 106 agreements. The recent announcements by CCC relate to funds made available by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for site access improvements at Northstowe new town to enable more rapid delivery of new housing.