Faced with escalating costs, the Vale of Glamorgan Council has
dropped plans to build a multi-million pound headland link between
Cardiff Bay and Penarth.
The latest cost of the scheme has been estimated at £21.5m and,
despite support from the Welsh Assembly Government (£7.5m) and the
Cardiff Harbour Authority (£1m) and the council having identified
£5m from its own capital programme, there was still an £8m
shortfall.
Vale Cabinet Member for Visible Services Cllr Rob Curtis said:
"All elements of the scheme are in place with the exception of
adequate funding and it is, therefore, reluctantly recommended that
we should not proceed with the scheme."
Cllr Curtis said officers had identified land which could be
sold over the course of the project to fund the gap but such a
strategy was unpredictable given that some parcels of land would
require the agreement of members before disposal and might require
necessary planning permissions.
"We must face reality and recognise that we have got very many
competing priorities, including the major School Investment
Strategy," said Cllr Curtis.
Deputy Leader Cllr Neil Moore, the Cabinet Member for Finance,
said: "The scheme has become more and more expensive since it was
first envisaged some eight years ago, and is something which we
definitely cannot afford to take forward at this time.
"Regrettably, we have more pressing calls on our capital
spending. We have to prioritise and, unfortunately, investing in a
new scheme such as this link is unattainable. It would be an
unrealistic project."
Cllr Moore called for a report from officers on schemes in
Penarth which could be considered for the council's 2008-09 capital
programme.