BACIT Correspondance with ENT Over The £77m

6th March, 2006

Steve Barber (Chair BACIT)

Cllr Gordon Wheeler (Chair ENT)

December 2005

20th December, 2005

Dear Councillor Wheeler

I read in the Nottingham Evening Post (1 December 2005) you quoted a year 2001 figure of £77m for the Nottingham Express Transit Extensions. Could you please point me to where this figure is quoted to substantiate it?

It was interesting that you managed to arrive at a figure of £700m for phase 2 by 2012 could you also detail how you achieved this figure?

Best wishes for Christmas and the new year.

Steve Barber

21st December, 2005

Mr Barber

The £77m comes from a NET report to City and Council. They clearly recognise this, as they have not queried the figure.

The £700m you refer to is no more than an educated estimate. This was made clear in the article.

Although it is nice that you recognise my Cllr status, I make it clear in correspondence relating to proposed NET phase 2, that this comes from me as Chair of ENT.

Have a good Christmas.

Gordon Wheeler

21st December, 2005

Thank you for your very swift response. I am though having difficulty in tracking the report made to city and county. Could you please elaborate with some detail, perhaps to which committee and a date which will enable me to find this. Is it available on-line?

Thank you for your help and co-operation.

Steve Barber

21st December, 2005

Mr Barber

I do not have the particulars with me.

I can advise that the document is held by one of our ENT committee members. At our January meeting I shall make further enquiries. But you could always ask NET or trawl the Nottingham City Council website.

Gordon Wheeler

February/March 2006

27th February, 2006

Dear Mr Wheeler

I note that in your latest newsletter you state that NET have just released certain information.

Could you please clarify when and how they released this information to you? Is this the information I requested a reference about from yourself last year?

Thank you for your continued co-operation

Steve Barber

28th February, 2006

Mr Barber

I am delighted you read ENT Newsletters. Undoubtedly you must be impressed with the quality of the material and the way local people are kept informed. No glossy brochures packed with spin. Just meaningful, factual information. And the taxpayer does not have to foot the bill.

Any information we publish is carefully checked.

Regards

Gordon Wheeler

28th February, 2006

Of course I read the ENT newsletter - avidly. I'm naturally pleased to see that you confirm all your information is so carefully checked as we at BACIT welcome a debate based on fact. However, I'm still interested to know when and how NET first put the information into the public domain regarding the information in NETballs. As you say that you research things so thoroughly I'm sure you must have this information at your fingertips and have no worries whatsoever about justifying your statement.

Thanks for your swift reply - as always.

Steve Barber

28th February, 2006

Mr Barber

I am delighted you are an avid reader of our excellent Newsletter.

I have no intention of justifying to BACIT any statement made by ENT about NET. It has got nothing to do with you. If NET are uncomfortable with the truth, they can make representations in the usual manner.

Gordon Wheeler

1st March, 2006

Mr Wheeler

Once again thank you for your swift reply. As you claim to be an organisation which strives to publish the truth and you now acknowledge that the £77m costings were not for the same scheme as currently proposed will you be publishing a correction and circulating to the same audiences as your original claim of cost escalations?

Kind Regards

Steve Barber

1st March, 2006

Mr Barber

As I said, this is a matter between NET and ENT. If they wish to take issue with any statement we have made, we would be happy to hear them. But NET does not enter into dialogue with local groups, who do not support their expensive, pie-in-the- sky schemes.

Gordon Wheeler

Note: The last message raises an interesting point: BCBRA, the Beeston and Chilwell anti-tram group claim to be having a dialogue with NET. Therefore either ENT and BCBRA are no longer sharing information or one of them is also misleading us on this.