Romiley Gazette – Special Report
17th November 2025
A newly resurfaced letter from Stockport Council, dated 28 November 2005, has prompted fresh debate over how the borough planned to finance elements of the long-discussed SEMMMS (South East Manchester Multi-Modal Strategy) Relief Road.
The correspondence, sent to local resident Mrs Sheila Oliver and signed by the then Executive Member for Transportation, explains that the Council had been “examining the use of PFI as a procurement method for the funding of the road scheme”. It goes on to state that the proposed PFI package for the SEMMMS Road Scheme would include the replacement and maintenance of all street lighting in Stockport, not just the lighting associated with the new bypass.
This revelation has raised eyebrows among residents and campaigners who question whether bundling borough-wide street-lighting renewal into a road-building PFI scheme would have complied with government rules on how PFI contracts are structured and what they can legitimately cover.
A Question of Scope and Legitimacy
Public-private finance arrangements are normally restricted to the infrastructure defined within the contract, meaning that wider, unrelated capital works — such as street-lighting replacement across the borough — would typically require separate approval and funding.
Local observers say that incorporating all of Stockport’s street-lighting stock into a bypass PFI could have blurred the lines between transport-scheme financing and general municipal capital works, potentially raising questions for auditors and regulators.
A former regional transport adviser, writing in 2009, noted that PFI funding tied to the A6/MARR corridor could not normally be diverted to unrelated purposes. While the Council’s 2005 letter appears to indicate an intention to take such an approach, it remains unclear whether the proposal ever advanced beyond the exploratory stage.
Residents Call for Clarity
Campaigners have long argued that the SEMMMS project deserved greater transparency, particularly around rising costs, changing procurement strategies, and the impact on local neighbourhoods.
“This correspondence suggests an extremely unusual use of PFI,” said one resident involved in monitoring the scheme. “Street-lighting across the whole of Stockport is a completely separate issue from building a major road. If this was seriously considered, we need to understand why and how.”
Council Response
The Council has not issued a recent statement on the matter, though the 2005 letter emphasised that “all SEMMMS funding has been spent in accordance with the Core Objectives listed in the SEMMMS Study Report.”
With part of the bypass opened and its costs substantially funded through conventional government grant rather than PFI, it is unclear what role — if any — the street-lighting proposal ultimately played in the financial planning of the scheme.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/storm-claudia-flooding-forces-crucial-32880476
A Debate That May Not Be Over
For many local residents, the resurfacing of these documents has revived longstanding concerns about transparency, accountability, and the financial management of major infrastructure projects in Stockport.
Whether the proposed arrangement would have been permissible remains a matter for legal and financial specialists, but one thing is clear: the community still wants answers about how their infrastructure was planned, packaged, and proposed to be funded.
—– Original Message —–
From: David.Colbert@4nw.org.uk
Cc: AnneMarie.Broderick@4nw.org.uk
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 11:08 AM
Subject: FOI and EIR 2004 Request A555 Poynton Bypass
Dear Sheila
I refer to your request for information regarding the A555 Poynton Bypass.
The North West Region’s Regional Funding Advice (RFA) submitted to the Government in January 2006 included a £33.8m contribution towards preparation costs of the South East Manchester Multi-Modal Strategy Relief Roads: the A6 Stockport North-South Bypass, the A555 Poynton Bypass and the A555 Manchester Airport Eastern Link Road (MAELR) completion. At the time, the cost of constructing the roads would be met through a Private Finance Initiative. This did not materialise, and in November 2008, the Department for Transport offered the region a contribution of £165m or 50% towards completion of the A555 Relief Road between Manchester Airport and the A6 south-east of Hazel Grove, provided the region would match-fund the balance from its regional allocation and other sources locally. This was not possible due to the region’s transport investment programme being significantly over-programmed.
In its RFA2 advice submitted to the Government in February 2009, the region allocated £17m as a potential contribution towards preparation costs and the cost of acquiring the Highways Agency’s land and property portfolio for the MAELR scheme, pending further consideration following Greater Manchester’s review of its sub-regional priorities to be completed by the end of April 2009. The Regional Leaders Forum approved this approach at its meeting on 20th February 2009, provided any re-prioritisation impacted on schemes within the Greater Manchester sub-region only.
I have attached copies of the RFA advice from January 2006, the RFA2 advice from February 2009, the paper considered by the Regional Leaders Forum at its meeting of 20th February 2009 and the approved minutes of that meeting, and the paper considered by the Forum at its meeting on 15th May 2009 setting out the outcome of the Greater Manchester review. Documentation relating to Greater Manchester’s consideration of the scheme in its review of sub-regional priorities should be obtained from the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA).
Kind regards
Dave Colbert
<<RFAjan06 – final.pdf>> <<RFA2 Final.1.PDF>> <<Item 5 RLF RFA2v5i.doc>> <<nwra_1242727512_Item_2_Minutes_20_Feb_09.pdf>> <<Item 4 RFA Transport.doc>> <<Item 4 RFA Major Schemes Spending Profile.xls>>
Dave Colbert CEng MICE MIHT
Regional Transport Advisor
4NW
Wigan Investment Centre
Waterside Drive
WIGAN
WN3 5BA
01942 776721
07554 115352
david.colbert@4nw.org.uk
www.4nw.org.uk
