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Wrangle over cash could delay Crossrail spur by three years
Joe Murphy and Jason Beattie, Evening Standard8 Oct 2007
A wrangle over money has hit a section of Crossrail, leading to claims that part of the project may be delayed.
Government departments are arguing over funding for the spur to Abbey Wood, south-east London, which will connect Woolwich, Custom House and the Isle of Dogs to the £16 billion line.
A committee of MPs is to investigate claims that one "solution" being considered is a three-year delay to the spur, which would mean the South-East being cut off from Crossrail until 2020.
The threat came as ministers were warned they faced a backlash from small firms if they were forced to pay over the odds to fund the scheme. Members of the Crossrail Bill committee will question officials tonight and tomorrow to discover how serious the funding crisis is.
A committee source warned: "If they are thinking of a delay, we won't stand for it. Members will be asking questions of Crossrail and officials to get to the bottom of this."
Crossrail was finally given the green light on Friday by Gordon Brown after nearly three decades of planning and is due to open in 2017. Rumours that the Abbey Wood spur was secretly being postponed began over the weekend, with some sources claiming the Treasury was insisting on a delay to save money by shunting more than £1 billion into a future spending round.
The spur is one of the most politically sensitive sections of Crossrail because it will bring tens of thousands of jobs to poorer areas of London. There was a battle over the Government's initial refusal to fund a station at Woolwich, resulting in Labour MPs forcing ministers into a hasty U-turn.
Government sources admit there has been "discussion between departments as to who is paying" - Whitehall code for a blazing row - but say they are confident the line will be built on time.
Chancellor Alistair Darling will unveil in tomorrow's spending review exactly how much he expects London companies to contribute to the rail link.
There are fears he is preparing to impose an additional tax - the so-called supplementary business rate - of as much as 4.5 per cent .
Although businesses organisations are supportive of Crossrail, there are fears that small firms could end up paying a disproportionate amount.
Due to open in 2017, the line will run from Maidenhead, via Heathrow and the City to Canary Wharf and beyond.
The complicated financial package will see central Government contribute £5 billion, the business community £1 billion with the rest coming from fares and the supplementary business rate, which is expected to apply only to firms in Greater London with a rateable value of £50,000 or more.
Reader views (3)
Well what a surprise, this wretched government has already tried to dump South London from this scheme once before and only public pressure (and the promise of massive private funding) has caused it to back down. As one commentator wrote if deprived areas such as Woolwich were excluded from the equation what on earth was the point of the endeavour.
So much for a the new socialist Utopia, where those that have shall have even more given to them and those that have not, etc.
- Frank Connelly, UK, 10/10/2007 17:12
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Exactly! I believe NIMBYism is still very alive and kicking! What everyone needs is a kick up the backside. I can understand small businesses' concerns but we have put up with the whingers sitting like a huge mountain on an ant for far too long! Look at that classy football stadium! And the whining that took place over lack of improvements to a tube station or 2. We, in the South of London, do not have the luxury of a tube station or 2 within walking distance. We lost Waterloo as out gateway to the continent, the transfers to any form of level public transport to airports and trains is a cruelty joke, so I'm ( not) afraid it's just tough, boys! Like it or lump it, Crossrail is here to stay Thank God! Isn't 30 years delay long enough? Remember, God so loved the world he did not send a committee!
- Carlyle Braden, Croydon, UK, 09/10/2007 06:44
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This is great isn't it, it's taken less than a week from Gordon's big announcement for part of the project to seemingly have hit the buffers. If this is anything like any other project this government has had anything to do with within a week the costs will be spiralling, the quality falling, and the deadline moving backward. Crossrail 3000 perhaps? Just in time to connect with Thameslink 2000.
- Neil, Notting Hill, 08/10/2007 10:33
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