Scandalous costs of the Dudley Tram is here

Thank you for writing.  Much appreciated.  Another request, please, to help save my 30 years of planting, watering and tending Nature with the knowledge of the different landowners and management companies over the years.  Photos, below.

While I'm writing, this if you feel able to say something, please to customerservices@tfwm.org.uk:

With all the interest in tree planting and nature, the scandalous £261.4 m for 1 Km of Metro trams must STAY on the former mainline railway down to Stourbridge Jct.

If TfWM must put the trams on the Dudley No 1 Canal embankment to destroy my 30 year old guerrilla garden, it MUST go on top of the embankment, next to the towpath, to reduce the impact on the trees, etc in the garden.

PHOTO:

Behind mostly my trees/planting is the rusty, metal sheet piling, as is seen on the left in this photo:

 Overview contrast.jpg

You can stop the tramway going slap bang through the middle of my fine guerrilla garden - PLEASE!  See:

 WBHE plan for Merry Hill.jpeg

On the above plan, my planting is on the north side of High Plateau that was levelled for housing above the metal sheet piling in the 1990s when the canal was straightened.  This was when I started the vertical garden to cover the ugly, rusty sheet piling.

EVIDENCE:

FROM: https://governance.wmca.org.uk/documents/s20364/Wednesbury%20Brierley%20Hill%20Metro%20Extension%20Phase2.pdf

" ... on the delivery of the Metro extension Phase 2b totalling £261.4m.

Phase 1: Wednesbury to Flood St., Dudley

Phase 2a: Flood St, Dudley to Waterfront Business Park

Phase 2b: Waterfront to Merry Hill Shopping Centre

Phase 2c: Merry Hill Shopping Centre to Brierley Hill Town Centre

(FROM para 12.4 on page 8)

"Since rewriting and submitting the FBC and the SAF appraisal in May 2024 it is noted in this report the total projected cost of Phase 2a, 2b of the WBHE project remains at £654.9m."   END OF QUOTE from para 12.12 on page 8.

£655 m for 4 Kms (£164m/Km) is SCANDALOUS - and, to destroy a former, principal mainline railway (that should have been brought back into use by the year 2000 CE)!

For another £261.4 million for only a maximum ONE KILOMETRE (1 Km) of the route from Waterfront to Merry Hill, is SCANDALOUS!  And it is deepening the catastrophic Climate emergency instead of urgent mitigation, which is still not seen (apart from my house which is a warm home).

THEREFORE: £400 million for 6 Kms of Phase 1    5.3 Kms on railway

                    £655 million for 4 Kms of Phase 2    1.86 Kms on railway

SAY: 7 Kms out of the 10 Kms on a former principal mainline railway.

10 Kms of tramway, 70% on a former mainline railway, yet still costing over ONE BILLION POUNDS!

Another extract:

"SAF Change Request CR 123 12.6 In May 2024 a formal Change Request (Ref: CR123) was submitted for appraisal through the Single Assurance Framework (SAF) seeking: 

• "Additional WMCA funding of £36m (CRSTS over-programming)  Indicates bad budgeting and overspending.

• "Confirmation of additional request for £212.5m funding from Government   Indicates bad budgeting and overspending.

• "Time extension of 5 years for WBHE (2023 to 2028)   Indicates delays, time wasting, inability to get a professional job done, incompetence.

• "Reduction of track length by 0.6km for WBHE (omission of Phase 2c)"  Now, 10.1 Kms for exorbitant expenditure to wreck so much and to do so much idiocy.

Bold is my conclusion.

Best wishes