Carlisle Northern Development Route given the green light

The long-delayed privately financed £155m Carlisle Northern Development Route (CNDR) was given the green light this week after Treasury officials approved Cumbria County Council’s plea for more money to fund the scheme.

The council first advertised the PFI scheme in 2004, shortlisting Connect CNDR, Sir Robert McAlpine and Vinci Investments.

However in 2005 it had to resubmit its scheme to both the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Treasury after all three bidders came in with bids significantly higher than the council’s first estimate of £77.8m.

Cumbria County Council’s highways project manager Jeff Holden told CJ: “When the bids came back it became obvious that the project was clearly unaffordable so we had to go back to DfT. They approved our new business case last year but we had to wait for Treasury approval for £142.8m in PFI credits, which finally came last week.”

The council will provide an additional £12.2m in funding.

Holden said the fact that the three bidders were still in the running for the 30 year contract, despite the delays, was testament to the scheme’s viability.

“It is a unique scheme in that the winning consortium not only builds, manages and maintains the CNDR but also manages and maintains a 92m network of principle A roads in north and west Cumbria linked to the new road.”

Holden said the contract does not fall under the new Competitive Dialogue Procedure because it was advertised before 2005. He added that, despite a request from one bidder, the council would not be reimbursing any bid costs in light of the delays.

The new road will run 11km from the A595/U1161 junction near Newby West, passing to the west of Carlisle, crossing the River Eden and joining the M6 at junction 44.

The three bidders will now submit new bids and a preferred bidder is expected to be chosen by November this year. Work on site is planned to start in the autumn of 2008.

Councillor Jack Richardson, cabinet member responsible for the scheme, said: “These kinds of major road building schemes are often fraught with difficulty and delay and the CNDR has been no exception. But we chose the CNDR as our top priority road scheme in the county and we have stuck with it, investing a significant amount of money and effort overcoming various obstacles. It’s a credit to the council and to everyone who has worked on this complicated project that we are on the home straight of a scheme that offers so many benefits for the area.”