Birmingham Friends of the Earth West Midlands Transport Campaign

PRESS RELEASE

29th September 2000

Contact 0121 643 9117

PRESCOTT GIVES U-TURN TOLL ROAD GO AHEAD TO SMASH THROUGH GREENBELT

The Birmingham Northern Relief Road, the motorway John Prescott said wouldn't work and Labour promised they would never build, has been given the final go-ahead six year's late by the government.  Midlands Expressway Limited have persuaded banks and construction companies to back them in smashing through twenty seven miles of greenbelt, despite huge financial risks, and the government has signed the agreements to start construction.

Bank of America and Abbey National will pay for this environmental destruction and CAMBBA (Carillion, Alfred MacAlpine, Balfour Beatty and AMEC) will build it.

West Midlands Friends of the Earth and the Alliance Against the Birmingham Northern Relief Road say this is disastrous for the environment and for motorists alike.  They point out that:

• BNRR will not reduce congestion significantly on any motorway in the West Midlands according to the government's own figures.
• BNRR will add to congestion on all the motorways it links into.
• BNRR will involve six lanes of motorway smashing through 27 miles of protected greenbelt.  There are already follow-on proposals for industrial development along its route.
• BNRR will damage two supposedly Nationally Important Nature Sites (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) at Chasewater and Blythe Valley.
• No one will have any control on the price charge by Midland Expressway Limited to use the motorway, which would be at least £2.50 (one way) for a car and £6.00 for a haulier.
• Toll motorways are notoriously bad investments and the banks could end up losing Savers' money.
• Even before MEL got the contract the government's own technical traffic advisors told them the project would fail to attract traffic.

Hazel Barnes of the Alliance Against the BNRR said:

This is a black day for people who live along the BNRR route.  Abbey National say life's complicated enough, it'll be hell for us now they're joining the Bank of America to fund this environmental pillage.  And it might end up being hell for their investors if the scheme doesn't work.

Gerald Kells of West Midlands Friends of the Earth said:

New Labour claimed they'd learnt that building endless motorways was a Tory mistake and they had a new transport policy which would end this kind of eco-destruction for short-term gains.  The Birmingham Northern Relief Road shows they haven't learnt their lesson.  Carving up the countryside won't solve congestion, it'll just build up bigger problems further down the line.

Press Contacts:

Chris Crean 0121 643 9117
Gerald Kells 01922 636601
Hazel Barnes 01543 672244

Further Information

There is a DETR press release at http://www.press.detr.gov.uk/0009/0616.htm

The MEL press release states

Finance

"Financing agreements are between MEL, Bank of America and Abbey National Treasury Services PLC. providing a facility totalling over £600 million for MEL to use in financing the construction of the BNRR."

Construction

"The design and construction contract is between MEL and CAMBBA construction group, a joint venture between Carillion, Alfred McAlpine, Balfour Beatty and AMEC.  The contract is for a fixed price of £485.5 million and under it CAMBBA will deliver the completed road within 40 months i.e. early 2004."

The consortium who will build it are CAMBBA Carillion Alfred McAlpine Balfour Beatty and Amec.
Finance is from Bank of America and Abbey National

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