From Adrian Lane, Exeter 383262, April 16, 2007

TRANSPORT improvements in Exeter designed to ease congestion and improve air quality could come to a grinding halt.

Contrary to claims by Exeter City Council that, as a unitary authority, it would have more money to spend in the city, Exeter could lose nearly £2 million a year in Government funding allocations.

Devon County Council, as transport authority, is planning to spend £3.2 million a year until 2011 on transport improvements in Exeter. Analysis of the levels of Government funding given to other small unitary authorities shows that Exeter could have only £1.4 million a year to spend. (See background information)

The County Council's plans for Exeter, revealed last year in its local transport plan Devon on the Move 2006-11, include:

• Encouraging more people to cycle as part of Exeter's status as a Cycle Demonstration Town by providing better and safer cycling routes in the city;

• Creating bus priority measures to improve bus journey times;

• Introducing more 20mph zones;

• Improving bus stops and facilities;

• Managing traffic and parking in the city centre;

• Environmental enhancements.

"There is likely to be a massive shortfall between what we are spending now in Exeter and the funding that would be available to a unitary City Council," said Devon County Council's Executive Member for Environment, Cllr Margaret Rogers. "Plans to ease congestion and improve air quality for residents would have to be drastically cut back. A unitary City Council would have less than half the amount the County Council is already committed to spend."

Devon County Council has been allocated a total of £8.3 million this year by the Government to spend on transport improvements throughout the county.

"The County Council recognises the importance of Exeter to the economy of the whole county of Devon and that is why we are investing heavily, spending more than £3 million of our total annual budget, to improve the city's transport infrastructure.

"Exeter would be in danger of falling behind its regional counterparts if there wasn't enough money available to continue the programme of transport improvements.

"People living in Exeter would suffer as they tried to go about their daily lives in a city which would become more and more congested. There would also be health issues with higher levels of pollution leading to poorer air quality."

Devon County Council Leader Cllr Brian Greenslade said the potential loss of funding allocations for transport improvements was another example of Exeter City Council's claims not standing up to scrutiny.

"The City Council says that as a unitary authority it would have more money to spend in the city but here is clear evidence that Exeter would lose out. Not only has the City Council made erroneous claims about the amount of money it would have available to fund day-to-day services, it has also ignored the potential loss of funding for capital investment.

"Our planned transport improvements in Exeter have the full backing of the City Council which recognises that sustained action is needed to stop Exeter approaching gridlock. But how could it carry on this vital work, which benefits both businesses and residents, with less than half the money we are spending?"

Background information

Government funding allocated for transport improvements to small unitary authorities for 2007/8

Unitary Population Allocation

Torbay 130,000 £1.6 million

Slough 120,000 £1.1 million

Blackburn 140,000 £1.8 million

Bournemouth 163,000 £1.7 million

Peterborough 156,000 £2.0 million

Projected funding for a unitary authority in Exeter based on the above figures

Exeter 117,000 £1.4 million

Government funding allocated to Devon County Council for 2007/8

Devon 731,000 £8.3 million

Notes for Editors:

Expert independent research shows that an Exeter unitary council will create a £20 million black hole with no chance of the massive costs ever being repaid through savings.

Nine years ago it cost £30 million to set up unitary councils in Plymouth and Torbay. Tax-payers paid the price in higher bills and poorer services. Council Tax rose by 19.4% across remaining Devon in 1998 to pay for the massive cost of reorganisation.

When the independent Local Government Commission studied the Unitary Exeter case in 1995 they found that Exeter needed its county and the county needed Exeter. The Commission concluded: "The interests of Exeter are, however, inter-dependent with those of the rest of the county. The Commission remains convinced that Exeter's centrality within Devon is of critical importance to the decision on structure, and it further believes that inter-dependence is a stronger principle than separation."

Over 40% of Exeter's workforce commute each day from outside the city and the future growth of the city will be outside the tight confines of the City Council's boundaries.

In 2006/7 Devon County Council spent £138 million in Exeter - excluding investments in new schools and other building programmes - on services such as:

Schools

School transport

Care for older people

Care for adults with physical disabilities and learning difficulties

Child protection

Meals on wheels

Road maintenance

Libraries

Cycle routes

Trading Standards and consumer protection

Recycling

Public transport

Park and Ride

Community education