Friday 22 March 2024

YOU CLLRS ARE MEANT TO HAVE THE POWER AND AUTHORITY, not the senior directors!!

Dear Councillor and MP - you are meant to be in charge!

DUDLEY TRAM TO SHOPPING CENTRE OR RAILWAY STATION?

On the 12 March, it was announced that the WMCA is spending not, now, £15 BILLION by 2040 on mainly Metro trams and Sprint buses but £6.1 BILLION between 2017 and 2032 on mainly Metro and Sprint.  This vast expenditure has no democratic authority, whatsoever.  There have been no discussion groups, no debates in a single council chamber and no voting anywhere.  The TfWM/WMCA compliant Committees and Boards will automatically rubber stamp the decision without a murmur of dissent or, possibly, even a question!  THIS IS AUTOCRACY AND CORRUPTION, NOT DEMOCRACY WITH ORDINARY PEOPLE AND STATE PENSIONERS PUT FIRST AND FOREMOST.

At a time of severe low income poverty from the multiple crises confronting the nation, this is in no way good enough.  Low income pensioners and the WASPI women and all low incomes need this money much more than the idiocy of the vast and unnecessary extravagance of swapping buses and trains for trams.

It is so typical of the WMCA directors, Council leaders and top councillors that they wish to help the very wealthy Merry Hill SC owner and the property manager by giving them, for free, a tramway rather than helping low income groups and struggling families to pay their bills.  Or, to do the blindingly obvious and to take the tram to Stourbridge Jct station, with freight at night, as the millions spent on "passive provision" is meant to be allowing.  Quite apart from the 24 years old stunning statement, never withdrawn, from the Experts:

"Light rail (trams) investment provides the basis for restoring heavy rail services (trains) at the appropriate time."  (Tom Magrath, Passenger Services Director, Centro)

Please tell me what YOU want done, now you have spent untold millions of public money, instead of Network Rail, on doing up Parkhead Viaduct, on the former, London to Edinburgh mainline railway through Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall.

No comments:

Post a Comment