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THUMBS UP FOR THE MIDLAND
23/6/08: Our first review for the re-opened Midland Hotel in Morecambe gives the refurbished and updated venure the tumbs up. John Freeman splashed out for a stay...

PARK AND RIDE PLANS DITCHED
23/6/08: Hopes for congestion relief for Lancaster have suffered a setback after the Government told Lancashire County Council to remove the Park and Ride plan at J34 of the M6 from the Council's bid for funding of the controversial Heysham M6 Link road scheme.
The request flies in the face of the government's usual approach to traffic planning that includes new bus lanes, trams and other non-car using schemes in other parts of the country, but makes sense in the light of the way the County Council has tride to bulldoze through the road scheme in defiance of local opinion.
"We think that they have thrown the wrong bit away," said David Gate, chair of local transport campaign group Transport Solutions for Lancaster and Morecambe (TSLM). "Clearly, the Government could see that the Park and Ride was only added to the funding bid as last minute window dressing, for an otherwise destructive and damaging plan. Park and Ride is not an integral part of the HGV route plan.
"LCC has sold this road scheme - to the people of Lancaster & Morecambe and to the Public Inquiry - as "integrated" with congestion-relieving measures," David added. "We've always said that's a sham - it's just a road scheme. This news shows that the Government doesn't believe them either, and agrees with us.
"With large scale development plans for Lancaster well in hand, the in-town traffic congestion problems for Lancaster and Morecambe are set to get worse. Other groups led by Geraldine Smith and the 'Vision Board' are pressing for another bridge into Lancaster, and other congestion-relieving measures, like rapid transit, park and ride, and a one-way system review. But the regional transport budget is already overspent by £187 million, and the Link road costs keep going up.
"The big question is: where is the money coming fro to pay for the district's congestion relief in these tough economic times? The Link road would cost at least £185 million without the Park and Ride, and all it would do is attract more heavy goods vehicles into the district and destroy our Green Belt. There is a big transport funding issue for our district: the authorities are not tackling the main problem, congestion.
"The County Council should drop the underperforming road plan and use the money on a package of less damaging alternative measures designed to combat congestion and be of benefit to the area as a whole."

LUNESIDE EAST DEVELOPER PULLS OUT
12/6/08: The Lancaster Guardian reports that developers David McLean Home shas pulled out of the £70million regeneration scheme planned for Luneside East.
The cooling of the housing market and the tightening of credit means that the 16 acre scheme, which included plans for 327 residences as well shops and 8,000 sq metres of office space, shops, a cafe and a park, lost its financial attraction for the company.
Work on the conversion of the St George's Works Mill, previously home to the Luneside Artists Group, will be delayed until another developer can be found to underwrite the site clean up.
Read more at www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/lancasternews/Roof-falls-in-on70m-urban.4180482.jp

Rt Hon Sir Robert Atkins

GRAVY TRAIN IN THE SOUP?
12/8/08: Our tory MEP the Right Hon Sir Robert Atkins is struggling to explain how the expences for his trip to the US for his son's wedding came to be claimed and paid for out of the public purse. Read more..
Read report in The Times Online.

CENTROS REPORT:
DEVELOPMENT PLAN WILL BARELY BREAK EVEN
17/5/08: A leaked report says that Centros' finances aren't stacking up. Serious concerns have been raised over the future of a £500m redevelopment of Portsmouth city centre. A secret report for Portsmouth City Council from the council's property consultants DTZ (also the consultants for Centros and for Lancaster City Council), leaked to local newspaper The News in March revealed huge worries over the funding of the Northern Quarter project.
It revealed that no major shops, apart from Marks and Spencers and John Lewis, have put their names to the scheme, no cinema will sign up to the project, no builder has even been appointed ahead of this August's start date and the project developers Centros will barely break even.
It is predicted that Centros won't even earn £5m out of the scheme – well below the estimated £150m.
Read more about Centros' troubles in Portsmouth

LANCASTER TORIES IN SLEAZE SCANDAL

David Sumberg		Rt Hon Sir Robert Atkins

14/5/08: Two Conservative MEPs representing Lancaster in the European Parliament have been condemned by a national newspaper for the use of their expenses.
The News of the World on Sunday (11 May) revealed that MEP David Sumberg had paid his wife more than £95,000 in some years for "secretarial assistance", despite the fact that he has made only two speeches in the European Parliament since 2004.
And in circumstances similar to those of the Conway affair in the House of Commons, Sir Robert Atkins was revealed as having both his pensioner wife and his son salaried at more than £2,500 a month EACH!
Now local Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies is demanding to know what Tory leader David Cameron is doing to clean up his party's act.
Read more about Davies' anti-sleaze campaign.

CENTROS GO TO PLAN B
8/5/08: A revised planning application is being launched by development company Centros and a copy of their brochure for the proposals can be downloaded here.
This plan has a Booths supermarket, and according to the development agreement, a two century long stranglehold on the city centre economy.
But is the development agreement a valid document?
With one of the agreement's Guarantor companies stripped down to only £100 liability, the other sheltering in the British Virgin Islands and questions arising over the council's employment of Donaldsons, a company with strong business ties to Centros Miller, to advise Lancaster City Council in negotiating its development deal with Centros Miller, the deal will undoubtedly have to be renegotiated.
Read more about Centros' latest troubles in Lancaster.

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