which requires companies with 11 or more parking spaces to pay an annual charge of £288 per year per space. This is expected to generate annual revenues of around £14m over the 23-year term of the Tramlink concession. “NCC looked at a variety of charging mechanisms and we concluded the WPL was appropriate and proportional for Nottingham,” explains Deas. “There is a clear logic in this approach and I think it is universally accepted. It reflects the vision and belief that improving public transport will give Nottingham a strong competitive position as a European city.” With funds for local public transport enhancements increasingly at premium as budgets are squeezed, councils in other British cities, notably Bristol, are closely watching the performance of Nottingham’s WPL with a view to implementing their own charging schemes.


Two new lines From Station Street, the 7.5km Line 2 ngham extends enefits


the discipline of bank involvement and the discipline of a long-term concession. The structure was also familiar and people involved with the project understood it, so we tried to replicate it as far as possible with Phase 2.” An important focus for NCC’s project team has been minimising risk for contractors in the procurement phase, which has helped to keep costs down. This proved to be vital for a project that was seeking substantial government funding at a time of spending cutbacks. “We felt it was sensible to develop some of the designs ourselves and get to the point where we had a reference design that would help potential bidders and give them confidence in what they were being asked to deliver,” says Deas. “In doing so, we minimised the risk they were exposing themselves to and therefore the overall price for the job.”


IRJ November 2012


The British government is funding £371m, 66% of the £570m project, through the PFI with the remaining 34% coming from NCC. Most of the local government contribution will be obtained through the workplace parking levy (WPL), a charge


“We felt it was sensible to develop a reference design that would help potential bidders and give them confidence in what they were being asked to deliver.” Chris Deas


introduced in April to finance NET Phase 2 and other public transport improvements. Nottingham is the first city in Britain to introduce a WPL,


will run south through The Meadows residential area, crossing the River Trent to reach Wilford Village before joining the former Great Central Railway alignment towards Ruddington Lane. Beyond the ring road the line will turn southwest to enter Clifton, terminating at a 1000-space park-and-ride station adjacent to the A453 road. This heavily- congested road is Nottingham’s southern link to the M1 highway and the section between Junction 24 and the tram station will be upgraded to a dual carriageway soon after the completion of the light rail project. The 9.8km Line 3 will diverge from Line 2 south of Nottingham station on Meadows Way, turning west to serve the north of The Meadows and the NG2 business park before crossing the Nottingham - Derby/Leicester line on a flyover to reach the Queens Medical Centre, the region’s largest hospital. The line will then cross the ring road to enter the University of Nottingham campus, before joining University Boulevard to reach Beeston town centre. The line will then run through the centre of Chilwell, a residential area, terminating at a park-and-ride station at Toton Lane. Like Phoenix Park on Line 1 and Clifton Park-and-Ride on Line 2, Toton Lane is close to a junction of the M1 highway, meaning all three junctions serving Nottingham will be within easy reach of a light rail station. Both lines will be served by eight services per hour per direction,


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