‘The people of Dudley have been let down’, says mayor Richard Parker, over tram delays

The people of Dudley have been ‘badly let down’ by the repeated delays in the construction of the town’s tram connection, says West Midland regional mayor Richard Parker.

Mr Parker made the comments on the day it was announced that the tram would now not be opening until next year, following the discovery of ‘safety critical issues’ during testing.

The issues have now been addressed, and a spokesman said driver training would begin shortly .

The mayor issued a statement at the start of a discussion about the problems with the scheme during a meeting of the West Midlands Combined Authority, which agreed to appoint an independent expert to investigate what had gone wrong.

Mr Parker told Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley, who had previously called for ‘heads to roll’, that he shared his anger.

Mr Parker told the meeting: “The people of Dudley have been badly let down, in my view, by the repeated delays to this project.

“They put up with years of disruption and delay dating back many years now. Local businesses have suffered too, and quite rightly, people have been left wondering when that line will actually open and be completed.

“I've said it to people on this board before, and particularly to Councillor Harley, that I am equally angry and frustrated as he is about what has happened, and what has happened is unacceptable.”

Mr Parker said it was not time to properly and fully investigate the reasons for the repeated delays that have plagued the project since work began.

“We must learn the lessons and address them on future projects to ensure they never happen again,” he said.

Work began on a seven-mile line, running from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill, almost seven years ago, and it was due to have opened in 2023.

Rising costs and delays caused by the coronavirus lockdown led to the scheme being broken up into three sections, with the opening of the first part - a four-mile stretch from Wednesbury to Dudley - opening in 2024. However, the opening date has been postponed on multiple occasions, and the latest announcement dashes feint hopes that trams may have been running before Christmas.

The second phase of the project, a two-mile extension to the Merry Hill shopping centre, is due to open in 2028. But the third section, which would have linked to Brierley Hill town centre, has been shelved indefinitely pending funding.

The cost of the scheme has also risen, from an initial estimate of £370 million, to a most recent estimate of £650 million.

Mr Parker said safety had to come first, and the authority could not compromise on that.

But he added: “We cannot keep accepting delay after delay when projects suffer constant delay and overspending.

“We have to question the way they are delivered, where responsibility and accountability should lie, where the incentives are to do better, and importantly, how oversight and governance can work more effectively.”

Mr Parker said he had inherited a system where a private contractor seemed to operate without an effective mechanism to hold it to account.

“This is failing, it's not acceptable, and I will take responsibility now for putting that right.”

Mr Parker said he had asked Transport for the West Midlands to look at different ways of carrying out tram projects in the future.

“I want a much stronger public control over costs, contractors, and delivery, and I want us to seriously question arrangements we've had in place for the last decade.

“Right now, my priority is getting trams running into Dudley safely and as soon as possible. I want a credible plan, a date people can trust and rely on, and clear accountability for getting it done.”

Mr Parker said he was committed to extending the tram network across the region.

“It is vital for the future of this place, but we've got to be a lot better at building it,” he said.

“The people of Dudley have waited for too long. I'm determined that we learn from what's gone wrong and don't repeat those mistakes in the future.”

Councillor Harley blamed the ‘incompetence’ of the Midland Metro Alliance, the body responsible for constructing the tram lines, and Midland Metro Ltd, which ran the tram service.

“This is not working, they blame each other,” he said. “They should be made accountable.”

He also called for a commitment to complete the line so that it ran to Brierley Hill.

The combined authority agreed to appoint Steve Edwards, at present chief executive of UK Trams, to carry out an investigation into what had gone wrong with the project, and how to prevent similar mistakes in future.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, deputy mayor of the West Midlands, said many parts of the region had difficult underground conditions, which often affected such projects.

“In Bilston, if you put a line-prop in the ground, I guarantee it’s going to fall on top of a mineshaft, and some of the mineshafts in the Black Country weren’t documented until 1909,” he said.

“We need to have a review, but not rush to conclusions before we get back.”