Is Norfolk County Council gambling on receiving Government funding to avoid possible bankruptcy with the funding of this doomed road?  This was the question arising out of yesterday's  Council's Scrutiny Committee's meeting. 

Following the meeting Councillor Osborne posted this on Twitter:

'Norfolk County Council have NO contingency reserve if the Norwich Western Link fails. If it fails, the cost will completely wipe out their general revenue reserves at £20million. This is huge. @NorfolkCC is gambling with Norfolk's financial future'

The shortcoming was first spotted by Councillor Emma Corlett who later posted this explanation:

'Norfolk County Council corporate risk register rates potential for government not providing £168m towards NWL cost as ‘possible major Amber’.

In other words *it’s a big deal* & needs attention. Roads are capital spending. There must be an asset at end of it – like a road.

If the road doesn’t go ahead any money classed as capital then becomes revenue spending.

Revenue is the type of money councils spend on front line services like care, libraries, children, fire service

Councils are not allowed to spend capital on revenue services

So far NCC has spent up to £20m on work on NWL & increasing weekly. If the scheme doesn’t go forward £20m that is currently capital becomes a hit on the revenue account. Currently the council has about £24m in reserves so it would virtually wipe them out.

The corporate risk register says contingency fund should be set up to protect against that happening. However the Tories haven’t and there are no plans to do so DESPITE both cabinet and Audit Ctte signing off the risk

If NWL doesn’t go ahead for whatever reason and Tory administration has no contingency reserves to fund the fall out will need to be a raid on front line service budgets – there is already a £60m hole in the budget

And there will be no money to tackling the rat running through affected villages in a sustainable way as those blighted need urgently

It is utterly reckless financial planning, puts services at risk & undermines confidence in any other assurances given around the NWL.

I’m clearly against the road already but if I wasn’t I’d be up in arms over how it’s being managed with such jeopardy to essential services'

David Pett speaking for the SWL campaign commented on this news by calling upon Norfolk County Council to bring an immediate halt to the road:

'The financial magnitude of this project and the risk it posed to the public purse was always going to be a challenge for a council that was not too long ago facing bankruptcy.   Irrespective of the perceived merits of this road proposal, gambling on Norfolk’s future for the sake of a three mile village bypass defies all rational  belief. For the sake of preserving and improving both essential and non essential public services the time has now come to draw  a line under this nonsense' 

The need to exert further pressure on the Council has never been greater so please help with spreading and sharing our petition link.