Transport probe expected to begin within weeks

An independent reviewer is expected to be appointed within weeks to investigate the funding and delivery of transport schemes across the West Midlands.

The inquiry was ordered last month by the region's Labour mayor Richard Parker in the wake of delays to several projects.

Mr Parker said the issues should have been understood before he was elected as mayor in May.

Transport for West Midlands said increased cost pressures of £121m were to blame for the problems.

This week saw Mr Parker reach the 100-day milestone in post and he said the delay to major transport schemes was one of the biggest challenges he had faced so far.

Among the projects affected included the long-awaited Camp Hill line which will see new stations built at Kings Heath, Moseley and Pineapple Road and phase one of the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro which have both been put back a year until 2025.

The proposed Aldridge Station and Hagley Road rapid transit schemes have been deferred completely until future funding becomes available.

Mr Parker said: “I want the review to commence as soon as we’re through the summer with a view to the initial findings being reported before the end of autumn.

“I need to understand what has happened in the past and how events materialised that resulted in me as a new mayor having to make announcements on the status of projects that in my view should have been known about or understood a lot earlier.

“I want to have the confidence in the capability of this region to deliver projects on time and to budget."

When the review was announced in July, Mr Parker's Conservative predecessor Andy Street said he was “saddened” to see party politics being deployed over the issue, and insisted billions of pounds worth of funding had been secured with key projects on track to be completed when he left office.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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