HS2: BCC Press Release April 2012

BUSINESS CASE FOR HS2 RECEIVES ANOTHER SETBACK

The Department for Transport, sponsors of the Government's High Speed 2 train project, was forced to admit yesterday that the Business Case for the £32billion scheme now only delivers half the originally forecast benefits and will barely break even on the Government's own figures.

The DfT revealed that the latest updated 'Benefits Cost Ratio' i.e. the value for money for each pound of taxpayers money invested in the scheme, has now been revised down for the fourth time. The 'BCR' for Phase 1 between London to the West Midlands has declined from an original forecast in January 2010 of a return of 2.4 for every pound invested to only 1.2 now. Critically this is still based on the widely-refuted assumption that all the time spent by business people on a train is wasted. When an allowance is made for this, experts believe that the true BCR is nearer 0.9 i.e. HS2 will lose 10 pence for every pound spent on it.

Martin Tett, Chairman of the 51m alliance of 19 local authorities opposed to HS2 said:"The DfT is being forced to 'come clean' on the business case. Every time it has been reviewed, the value for hard-earned taxpayers' money has fallen and fallen. Normally the DfT wouldn't look at any business case with a return of less than 2, but here we have a project that barely breaks even and in reality  will almost certainly lose an enormous amount of money. Yet again the DfT have tried to 'bury bad news'. Clearly they know that we would have 'flushed out' this information so they have decided to publish it quietly, deep in numerous reports.

"Fundamentally, this latest analysis proves that we have been right all along. Our prime objection has always been that you need a really good business case to compensate for doing so much damage to the environment. This confirms that HS2 has a catastrophically poor return for taxpayers. By contrast our alternative of upgrading the West Coast Mainline provides all the forecast capacity with a return on investment five times greater. At a time of national austerity HS2 is the wrong investment. We need to be investing in improving existing road and rail infrastructure across the whole country to get our economy moving. This project needs to be reconsidered urgently by the Government."

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Last Updated on Friday, 20 April 2012 13:30

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Temporary Water Restrictions

Sustainability Services Briefing
Buckinghamshire County Council

Date: Thursday 19th April 2012
Briefing: Temporary Water Restrictions
Issues: Temporary Usage Ban imposed by seven Water Companies from 5th April 2012
Details:

Background

After below-average rainfall for 20 of the last 25 months, parts of England are officially in drought. As a result, seven water companies (Anglian Water, South East Water, Southern Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water, Thames Water, Veolia Water Southeast and Veolia Water Central) announced temporary usage bans (commonly known as hosepipe bans) from 5th April 2012.

Implications

Buckinghamshire is affected by this temporary usage ban, as Anglian Water, Thames Water and Veolia Water Central all supply water to the County’s residents. Each water company has published details of its temporary use ban on its website, as well as using other methods of communication to publicise this information.
The temporary usage ban means that residents cannot use a hosepipe to:

• water their garden, allotment or other green space
• wash a private motor vehicle
• water plants that are in containers or in the ground but under cover
• draw water for domestic recreational use
• clean windows, walls, patios, paths or other surfaces
• fill or maintain a domestic pond
• clean a private leisure boat

There are also restrictions on filling and maintaining:

• domestic swimming pools
• domestic paddling pools
• ornamental fountains

People who ignore the ban can be fined up to £1,000 per offence. The restrictions apply whether residents are on a water meter or not. There are some exceptions - for instance, if the water use is for health and safety reasons. People with mobility problems may also be able to use hosepipes in specified circumstances.

As it can’t be predicted when and how much rain will fall, there is no way of knowing how long the temporary usage ban will need to remain in force. It seems likely that the ban will continue into Winter 2012, if not further. The ban is regrettable but necessary, and it is hoped that it will reduce the likelihood of moving to a full drought order. In order for water companies to serve a full temporary use ban (or drought order) they need to seek approval from the Secretary of State and go through a consultation period. This is a ten week process. It is likely that the water companies will go through this process sooner rather than later, so that it is in place and ready, if  required, for the summer months. The water companies do not have to use the drought order if it is granted.

Section 83 of the Water Act 2003 imposes a duty on Public Authorities (which includes not only all Ministers and Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and NDPBs, but also Local Authorities and other public bodies) to conserve water.

As a result of the temporary usage ban, it is suggested that all Parish and Town Councils review the information provided by their relevant water authority and act accordingly. County and District Councils in Buckinghamshire are also doing the same.

http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/
http://www.thameswater.co.uk/
https://central.veoliawater.co.uk

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Last Updated on Friday, 20 April 2012 13:26

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London Road Bus Lane, High Wycombe

Exhibition being held on proposed changes for London Road bus lane, High Wycombe

An exhibition unveiling proposed changes to the London Road bus lane in High Wycombe is being held by Transport for Buckinghamshire on Thursday 29th March.

The exhibition will be held at High Wycombe Library between 1pm and 8pm. Visitors and residents are encouraged to drop by and view the prospective changes. They will also have the opportunity to give their feedback via a questionnaire.

Cabinet member for Planning and Transport, Peter Hardy, said: 'Following public concern about the current operation of the bus lane on the London Road, we have explored how we can improve this. We would like to get as many views as possible of the options, and we're asking people to come to visit the exhibition, both drivers and bus passengers, and complete the questionnaire."

Residents unable to visit the library event in person will be able to view the information and have their say, for two weeks from 29th March, on our Service Information Centre website at:

http://www.transportforbucks.net/Buses-and-trains.aspx

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Last Updated on Thursday, 22 March 2012 09:53

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Thames Vallley Police Update

From 1 April 2012 Chiltern and South Bucks Local Police Areas (LPAs) will merge to become one LPA and the new area will be known as Chiltern and South Bucks LPA.

This merger follows the decision made by the Chiltern District Council and South Bucks District Council to have one senior management team and our strategic aim for Local Police Areas to be co terminus with their Local Authorities.

There are no efficiency targets attached to these changes, however, the merger does present opportunities to improve resilience and to continue to provide a high level of operational delivery across the area.

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Bennett, said: “The merging of the two LPAs has the potential to enable streamlining of leadership and some support activities whilst improving resilience in operational delivery.

“It won’t affect our frontline policing in the area and we will continue to have operating bases in both areas.”

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 March 2012 09:32

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Campaign: Energy Bill Revolution

Today (Monday 27th February) a new campaign to help households reduce their energy bills and make their homes warmer is launched by the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) and others.

The Energy Bill Revolution Campaign calls on Government to invest the money it receives from carbon taxes into improving the energy efficiency of our homes.

From 2013 Government will receive a huge increase in revenue from two key carbon taxes - the sale of allowances in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the new Carbon Floor Price. Research commissioned by the Campaign has calculated these revenues will be on average £4bn a year.

If invested in energy efficiency in the housing stock, this money could remove 9 out of 10 households from fuel poverty, it could produce four times the carbon savings achieved by Green Deal and ECO together and could create between 30,000 and 50,000 direct jobs and up to 200,000 indirect jobs in the wider economy.

Please join the coalition http://www.energybillrevolution.org/whos-behind-it  and support the campaign by signing our petition http://www.energybillrevolution.org today.  

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Last Updated on Monday, 27 February 2012 11:01

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Coleshill Community Energy Efficiency Initiative

COLESHILL PARISH COUNCIL GETS GRANT TO HELP VILLAGERS SAVE MONEY ON ENERGY BILLS

Coleshill Community Energy Efficiency Initiative launched

The Parish Council has obtained a £7,500 grant to help residents save money on their energy bills. As part of the initiative, there is a range of services on offer. Do take advantage of this grant - get involved – and save money.

What’s on offer?

• free customised energy audits for householders. Carried out by a registered energy assessor, the audit will show householders their home’s current energy rating, how its energy efficiency can be improved and how much money could be saved. There is even a £25 ‘thank you’ for having the audit done. Get in touch to find out more*

• free use of the ‘Coleshill Energy Monitor Library’ – residents can borrow energy monitors to learn more about their electricity use

• free energy efficiency advice service available to all residents - getting the most from your energy supplier, how to get free or very low cost insulation, online energy audits, using energy saving devices and the ‘Green Deal’

• community meeting – complimentary wine/beer and snacks - free to enter prize draw – short expert presentations – exhibitions – and artwork to admire by Coleshill School pupils created for Climate Change Week

*Conditions do apply - the grant provides for a maximum of twenty audits – looking to audit a range of property types

Think improving the energy efficiency of your home isn’t worth the effort – and you can’t afford it?

That’s what lots of people think but the cost of improvements to your home may be considerably less than you think – and if you plan to stay in your current home for a few years the savings will be worth it.

Chiltern District Council is currently offering loft insulation for £99 and cavity wall insulation for £199 (for certain householders, it’s free). The big six Energy Suppliers are still obliged to offer free/reduced cost insulation until the end of this year.

In the autumn the Government is launching the ‘Green Deal’. The idea is that you will be able to retrofit your home – saving energy – with no upfront capital cost to the home owner.

How do I get involved?

To request a customised energy audit, use the Energy Monitor Library or to get any energy efficiency advice, please Click Here to use the contact form.

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Last Updated on Friday, 24 February 2012 09:48

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HS2: Open Letter from BCC Leader, Martin Tett

HS2: AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL BUCKINGHAMSHIRE RESIDENTS FROM MARTIN TETT, LEADER, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

The announcement by Justine Greening of the Coalition Government's decision to go ahead with HS2 is clearly disappointing if not unexpected. Whilst we may have lost a battle, we are far from losing the campaign and I am determined that we redouble our efforts to stop this ill-conceived project.

Our opponents have tried to stereotype those who oppose HS2 as 'Chiltern NIMBYs'. I, by contrast, see us as the people right across this country who have had cause to analyse this proposal and who see it for what it actually is, a vast waste of hard-earned taxpayers' money combined with environmental vandalism on an almost unprecedented scale.

The Government's 'spin machine' has been in overdrive during the announcement with, no doubt coincidentally-leaked reports, and attempts to conceal the facts. A thorough analysis of the Government's material has now shown some damning conclusions.
Firstly, the business case for HS2, already poor, has become far, far worse. The published 'Benefit Cost Ratio' for the London to Birmingham section has declined from a predicted 2.7 return for every pound spent in March 2010, to 1.7 in 2012. Far worse, when the figures are adjusted for known risks buried deep in the report, such as the latest economic forecasts, updated forecasting methods and a more realistic value of the time saved by passengers, the return drops as low as a dire 90p for every pound. In other words, HS2 actually loses the hard-pressed taxpayer 10p for every one of the £32 billion spent on it. This is well below the threshold that the Department for Transport would normally allow for any project.  No wonder the Government tried to 'bury bad news'.

By contrast, the Government's own consultants show that the alternative put forward by the 51m Alliance of 18 local authorities opposed to HS2 of improving our existing lines at far lower cost, has  a 'Benefit Cost Ratio' of 5, delivering £5 for every taxpayers' pound invested. No wonder the Government tried so hard to discredit this far better option.

Secondly, despite the attempt to persuade MPs that it is 'tunnelling under the Chilterns', in reality only an extra 1.4 miles of extra tunnelling has been added. The rest of the route, some 5.5 miles remains untunnelled. In addition, HS2 is now in many cases worse for many people living along this route. The Government's so called extra 'mitigation' of a short route change in Amersham and  extra tunnelling, has been counter-balanced by reducing the depth of the cutting between Little Missenden and Wendover from 9 metres to only 2 metres.  As a result people along this section are likely to now see and hear the trains even more than before.

Lastly, the Government has ignored the vast response to its own Public Consultation.  55,000 people across the country responded to this. Compare that to the 7,000 who replied to the Public Consultation last year on the proposed sale of the National Forests which led to a rapid U-turn. Despite Philip Hammond's desperate attempts to drum up support by everyone from northern businessman to Bob Crow's railwaymen, the Government's case was decisively rejected in every one of the seven consultation questions. These responses have been completely ignored despite a dire business case. This discredits the entire consultation process.

So what can we do now? Plenty. As 51m, your local councils are considering legal action against this scheme. In addition, it will be 2013 before a Bill is introduced to Parliament for the London to Birmingham section of HS2. This gives us over a year to spread the key messages nationally that this project represents even more appalling waste of taxpayers' money than we had originally thought; that it will result in environmental damage along its entire route; that building it would cause enormous disruption to services into Euston station for eight years and finally, that a far, far better alternative exists which has been all but ignored.

As the 51m Alliance we pledge to continue to support the residents of Buckinghamshire.

Martin Tett

Leader Buckinghamshire County Council


For further information please contact:
Viv Saunders, Communications Officer
Tel: 01296 382673
Fax: 01296 382005
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Last Updated on Monday, 23 January 2012 22:07

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