 February 2003, and the long battle seemed to be at last at an end, if this remarkable statement by Chester City Council was to be believed! On the same page is reproduced a remarkable editorial from the Chester Evening Leader, Lessons to be Learned from the CDTS Fiasco...
On 20th September 2003, a welcome event occured- one none of us ever though we'd see...
 September 11th 2002: People of Chester rejoice! At a full meeting of Cheshire County Council, a majority of councillors today made the historic- and extremely welcome- decision to refuse to assist in funding the ludicrous CDTS Busway project! (And the very same thing occured at a subsequent meeting on 2th October: see below).
Right: 13th September 2002- just some of the 400-odd people who turned out to celebrate the County Council's wise rejection of CDTS and show their support for the cycleway/footpath...
The previouis week they had received a final report
about the viability of the Busway. Although, to nobody's surprise, heavily supportive of going ahead with the project, it admitted that the estimated cost had rocketed from around £10 million to somewhere vaguely in the region of £18 million!
In addition- and doubtless one of the reasons many councillors lost their nerve- was the expressed opinion of (pro-busway) Environment Director, Peter Cocker that "capital costs for major construction projects like this have a habit of rising alarmingly once the first sod has been cut. The cost estimates have been scriutinised using all available data but they remain estimates and not certainty..."
It was also revealed that around £3 million had to date been spent upon
the CDTS planning process. (considering the thousands of man-hours expended upon the stream of reports, glossy brochures and 'consultations' since 1984- eighteen years ago- and that around £1 million alone was spent upon the lawyers employed by our councils at the Public Inquiry in Feb 2000 to take on their own people, this figure may in truth end up being far, far more... will we ever know?
Regarding the amount of correspondence he had received regarding CDTS, Council Leader Paul Findlow told the meeting that he had received letters in support of the Busway in "nearly double figures"- while "hundreds and hundreds" had come from objectors. More details may be found in the full County Council press releases here...
So, what now for Chester City Council? They could now decide to go it alone- doubtless with the good wishes of those county councillors who disagreed with the decision (the most rabid examples being David Robinson, Sue Proctor and Hoole's own Molly Hale) and, many suspect, with the generous assistance of the private sector. But surely, one asks, the County's commendable decision makes their case for the busway no longer viable- if the costs are considered excessive for the County and City working together, how on earth could Chester's taxpayers be expected to afford it alone? City council leader John Price and all manner of businessmen's organisations, economic development forums- and the Chester Chronicle- are, it seems, far from coming to the same conclusion, however.
So who can tell what new twists in this most twisted of tales the future may bring. Much more on all this soon...
The County Council debate over the go-ahead for CDTS on 24th October 2002 resulted in much the same outcome as the vote of September 11th- a majority of County councillors opposed to funding the busway.
Much to the disgust of their opponents, who had worked extremely hard to change their minds. To the extent- in some cases- of of pretty much 'making it up' as they went along.
Take, for example, County Councillor David Robinson, who informed his fellows that there had been "massive objection" to the construction of the cycleway / footpath on the site of the old railway- a clumsy lie.
And
County Councillor Sue Proctor, who justified her, to our minds, slightly frantic case for the busway to be built by letting it be known in the debate that "two people have been mugged on the cycleway- not that any of them (glowering horribly up at we, the assembled members of the public in the gallery)- seem to care very much about that"...
Strangely reminiscient, we thought, of the
pack of lies put about- and duly printed by a gullible local press- back in July regarding "a string of sexual attacks on women and young girls" on the cycleway- none of which were ever traced by the police- and neither, to nobody's surprise, was the source of the story ever revealed...
Local people's frustration may be a t an all time high and their The busway is, at least, once again front-page news- thankfully, to many of us, for much more positive reasons than ever before. Nontheless, many local people have remained, remarkably, unaware of the impact on the economy and environment CDTS would have if it was allowed to go ahead.
Chester's taxes continue to rise, the streets are full of potholes, cars are everywhere and her people have virtually nowhere at all to walk and cycle in peace and safety- 'Safe Routes to School' is a farce- but millions can still be squandered merely to allow day trippers to have easy access to the city centre shops...
In the light of the County Council's decision, a renewed debate is certain to bring with it a whole new crop of objectors, especially from those thousands who have had the opportunity to enjoy for themselves the peace, tranquility and convenience of a cycleway and footpath which, despite the hollow assurances of politicians who'll never use it, will assuredly be ruined by being made to squeeze into whatever space is left from concrete bus tracks...
By February 2003, the long. long battle seemed to be at last at an end, as this remarkable statement by Chester City Council seemed to indicate...also here is a hard-hitting editorial from the Chester Evening Leader, entitled Lessons to be Learned from City's CDTS Fiasco...
And then, on 20th September 2003, a most welcome and encouraging event occured- one none of us ever though we'd see. On a rainy Saturday afternoon a group of happy folk assembled at Kingsway Chapel to hear the new leader of Cheshire County Council, Cllr Nora Dolphin publicly thank all those who devote their spare time to litter picking, pruning, weeding and in other ways caring for the cycleway. County Council Cycling Officer Anna Geroni also gave an interesting talk as did the tireless Audrey Hodgkinson, Secretary of the Anti-CDTS Groups- and also now busy with the new Friends of the Millennium Cycleway. Both of them have worked long and hard- albeit from 'opposite sides of the fence'- to see that the cycleway was completed, to publicise it, ensure it is well maintained and, eventually, to see it extended.
Representatives of many groups were present but, considering the (for all involved in the years-long CDTS debate on either side) symbolic importance of this event, with the notable exception of city councillors John Ebo and Janet Black, together with her husband, ex-councillor Alex, (Cllr Colin Bain also sent apologies)- those of the politically elected variety were, sadly, nowhere to be seen.
Several of these, we should remember, continue in their nitwit belief in the Busway as the magic answer to Chester's transport problems and continue to plan for the day when it actually gets built... Some chance.
So, if you're wondering what all the fuss is about, click on the links below to explore the place for yourself- how it was, how is now- and how, God forbid, it will be if the damned Busway ever does get built. Enjoy!
Contact your city councillor (telephone the couincil switchboard, 01244 324324, ask for 'members services' and request their names and contact details, or go here) or your county councillor (01244 602424 or here)- and tell them what you think!
To become a Friend of the Millennium Cycleway (it's free!) talk to Audrey Hodgkinson: 01244 343055 a.hodgkinson@virgin.net
"In 1997 the consultation draft of the Chester Transport Study stated the following, and I quote: "The system is needed to permit redevelopment and regeneration of major brownfield sites in Chester". This appeared at the top of the list of factors supporting the CDTS, not pollution and traffic reduction, not the improvement of the environment but development and that's what this has all been about".
G. Hughes, Chester, October 2002
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