Cllr Gary Long to lobby parliament over tram extensions

6.08.03pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 11th Jun 2010

Nottingham Lib Cllr Gary Long will travel to the House of Commons on Tuesday 15th June to lobby for government support for the NET Phase Two tram extensions in Nottingham.

In a visit to the All-Party Parliamentary Light Rail Group, Cllr Long will appeal to MPs and government ministers to support funding for the project, which would result in extending tram links across the city to new locations including Clifton, Wilford, Chilwell, Beeston, and the Queen's Medical Centre.

Gary said:

"The Lib Dem Group on Nottingham City Council has always supported the tram and I want to make it clear to central government that we see it as one of the most important schemes in the city.

"The tram extension will make our city greener and will play a vital role in economic regeneration in the area. I look forward to making these points when I visit the House of Commons."

Cllr Long has also written to Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker who now works in the Department for Transport (DfT) in the coalition government, urging him to make Nottingham's tram a priority.

In the letter, Cllr Long wrote:

"NET Phase Two has been identified, through intensive scrutiny as part of your Department's appraisal procedures and the exhaustive Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) planning process, as being vital for the Greater Nottingham economy.

"It is unfortunate that the new MP for Broxtowe appears unwilling to recognise the conclusions that have been drawn following an exhaustive, open and legitimate statutory planning and approval process."