Cash fears over A27 proposals

The South East England Regional transport board wants the government to be more realistic about budgets, with above-inflation rises in building costs to stop future projects being pushed further back into the future.

Board chairman, Nick Skellet, said building costs had risen by up to seven per cent but the government only allowed for a 2.25 per cent inflation figure.

He said the funding gap hit budgets and left no money for new projects.

Cllr Skellet said: 'The transport board wants to ensure that the region realises its full economic potential. But that requires timely investment to keep the region moving.

'The government's unrealistic approach to construction inflation is eating away at regional investment.'

Sixteen transport projects worth 530m in the South East for 2011 to 2016 were approved by the government, including the scheme to make massive improvements to the Chichester bypass.

However no improvements have been scheduled for further along the A27, including Arundel, because the transport board's budget does not stretch that far.

Mr Skillett warned that even projects for which funding has been earmarked, such as the Chichester bypass, could face delays if increased building costs mean that there is not enough cash to carry the scheme out.

And any increases won in the regional budget are wiped out by much higher inflation leaving no money for new projects.

Mr Skillett said: 'It is time government got real about transport build costs.'

West Sussex County Council backed the transport board's claims and said that the county's road network was a victim of the government's failure to accurately estimate building costs.

Cabinet member for highways and transport, Tex Pemberton, said that each year he had to ditch plans for around 100,000 worth of general improvements because rising building costs meant there was not enough cash to pay for every planned scheme.

He said: 'It gives us very little room if something happens. For instance if we had a hot summer and lots of pot holes were formed we would not have the money to make repairs.'

Mr Pemberton said that a prime example of the funding problem was the A3 Hindhead improvements in Surrey. Its cost rocketed from 270m to 371m, meaning that schemes including the Chichester A27 improvements, were delayed by the regional transport board because it was forced to put extra money towards the Surrey scheme.