End of the line for monorail plan
A revolutionary scheme to improve public transport has finally been scrapped after council bosses said 'enough is enough'.
Portsmouth City Council has called time on plans for a 120m monorail which would have stretched the length of Portsmouth, after councillors lost patience with the company who said they wanted to build it.
In March, council chiefs gave the monorail's promoters Ambersham six months to finalise their plans as doubts grew over funding and design.
The monorail, first discussed back in 1998, was intended to transport up to 2,000 passengers, stopping at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Port Solent, Tipner, the ferry port, the city centre, Portsmouth and Southsea rail station and the Hard Interchange next to Gunwharf.
But at a full city council meeting, members have now finally voted to withdraw support for the plan.
Tory councillor Alistair Thompson said: 'Ever since I have been on the council, for the last six years, there has been talk about this magical monorail, but nothing has happened. It's a flight of fancy.'
The 120m scheme relied on 70m coming from developers in exchange for allowing them to build large developments around the city.
Lib Dem council leader Gerald Vernon Jackson said: 'We were considering giving them a couple more months, but this plan has been going on for years and years.
Ambersham chief executive Richard Savin said: 'I am surprised, but not that surprised.'
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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