Bus Station Fiasco costs £2.3m

The ballooning cost of the bus station on the Brook has been subject to much debate in the corridors of power over the last two weeks.

It isn’t a new debate – Labour has been asking public questions for months about the ongoing cost increases for the bus station. Councillor Jarrett has deliberately obfuscated and the Conservatives deliberately failed to answer questions prior to the local election.

No surprises some might say!

Over the last 12 months Labour has expressed constructive concern about several aspects of this project:

• The original budgeted cost has ballooned from £5m (Medway Renaissance estimate) to a now predicted outturn of £7.3m. An increase in cost of £2.3m on the original budgeted expenditure. Some 45% increase
• The original timetable for completion was April 2011. As most residents have been aware this has now been extended and extended into October 2011. Some five months late.
• The original planning process was tardy and delays from the Tory-led planning committee coupled with a poor original brief given to consultants, led to a proposal with little merit and being rejected. The subsequent proposal was rushed and was still poorly designed
• Heritage has been bulldozed - including several historic trees on the Brook.

The bus facility has little public backing and though more modern than its current it is clear the public could have seen a better outcome for £7.3m of Labour government grant money.

All in all the public are extremely unimpressed by the seemingly endless litany of errors, mistakes, oversights, delays and buck-passing.

The emergency Council meeting was called by Labour because the public has become fed up with the constant increase in cost and the manner in which incompetence is being covered up by Tories. It is all very well for Councillor Jarrett to keep writing the blank cheques for fiasco after fudge – but Council tax payers need transparency and openness.

According to the Medway News; the latest charge to emerge is a failure of the Tory administration to engage and negotiate with Arriva, the bus operator in Medway, on a move to the new facility. Given Arriva had already signed a lease agreement with the Pentagon it is simply baffling that the bus company was not being engaged earlier on any move. Apparently not.

Councillor Jarrett admitted today that negotiations have been going on for several months; but given this station was being planned in 2009 and permission given in 2010... this should have been clear at that point.

As it is, Cllr Jarrett's incompetence and delay led us into the negotiations with a far weaker hand and thus a result where we either paid up or had the main bus operator snub the bus facility. Oh dear...

Last night, it was clear that not only were we fed up with the failure to manage capital programmes but the silence from the Tory back-benches spoke loud and clear. The chill in the air was palpable.

The Liberal Democrats meanwhile didn’t even bother to attend despite the significant impacts on residents across Gillingham. Outrageously lazy to not turn up to a crucial crunch vote on the future of bus provision for residents but then they have gave up the ghost months ago.

Cllr Juby was last spotted yesterday lunchtime having lunch with Cllr Jarrett. They do say birds of a feather flock together...