MIDAS chief’s TIF plea

GREATER Manchester’s inward investment chief has stressed his backing for the TIF bid, which would unlock major investment in public transport, but trigger a congestion charge.

Colin Sinclair, a long standing supporter of the scheme and a key ally of city council supremo Sir Howard Bernstein – the driving force behind the bid – warned the city and region could miss out on key inward investment projects unless the scheme is approved.

The result of a referendum on the controversial issue which has polarised the business community will be revealed at lunchtime on Friday.

Mr Sinclair, chief executive of MIDAS, Manchester’s Investment and Development Agency said: “The proposals under the TIF bid will create for Manchester a world-class transport network that will provide a massively improved level of access for business. This investment is needed and needed now.”

He said feedback to MIDAS was that the TIF scheme would make Greater Manchester a “more attractive place to do business”.

“We have major projects under negotiation that might stall or even fail without this new investment in public transport… We either want Greater Manchester to be a global player or we don’t, and if we do then sitting in an ever increasing traffic jam for the next 30 years clearly isn’t the way forward.”

Opponents of the scheme argue that the congestion charging proposals are too rigid, will put the city at a competitive disadvantage to other regional cities such as Leeds and Liverpool, and don’t address key traffic hotspots such as the M62 corridor and the M6.