Eat my hat part 2

Friday afternoon at 4pm in the Nelson Room at Pontefract about 25 local worthies Walsh included gathered to hear the conclusions of the Transport Consultation that was put on following our MP, the Minister getting caught out in an aspiration, rather than a commitment on the parlous state of the roads and traffic problems in Pontefract.

The meeting was Chaired by Trevor, the local councillor up for re-election in May and the Interim Director of Transportation and Highways came to talk with us. The MP arrived about 20minutes later and talked at us.

Firstly I must say that I was really impressed with Ian the Interim Director. Sensible and practical and got across to all his view that it was time to get something done.

This was the very first meeting that I have attended where it was admitted that Pontefract does not have a Transport Strategy which accounts for the reason why it has not been able to get any of the problems taken seriously. When it was suggested that the Pontefract Master plan has a Transport dimension, I had the opportunity to query and get agreement that the Master planning consultants did not have the budget to do anything.

I also asked where the funds would come from? I had hoped that the Minister would hang around to answer that one, but having blown in she blew out before I got the chance.

It was possible to get confirmation that something that I had heard was actually happening in that WMDC officers are having discussions with Department of Communities and Local Government (the Ministers former department before she moved over to the Treasury)with a view to making the Five Towns a DCLG Growth Point which would attract some infrastructure money.

For Growth Point read places where government gets to drop shed loads of new houses (possibly even Eco Houses), this very much tends to confirm my suspicions as to why people were keeping quiet about Darringfield, they want to be able to have a big headline on funding to pat away peoples objections about the areas critical infrastructure shortages.

Any way it looks like there will be a follow up meeting in June or July, I wonder if Trevor will chair that one?

Seems hardly likely if people actually work out what his administration are doing to the area!

Somebody reassured me, my hat is safe at least this year.