Email sent 4/8/13 at 14.16 to Councillor Roberts and h.bernstein@manchester.gov.uk; Jon.Lamonte@tfgm.com; j.bowles@manchester.gov.uk; r.paver@manchester.gov.uk; steve.warrener@tfgm.comThis document can be more easily read at:-http://www.sheilaoliver.org/m56-to-a6-bypass.html

Dear Councillor Roberts

Many thanks for the reply attached re public question time 16th July 2013 with information on the A6 – Airport Scheme – £260m and thank you for your references on the components, namely the financial case and appendices E, G and O; I would have welcomed a more enthusiastic response including perhaps a thumbnail sketch of each component and your commentary.

Your response to the question – why NPS Stockport were appointed to work on the scheme – seems to depend entirely on NPS being a going concern. Have you not taken account of the fact that NPS is only a “going concern” on the condition that guarantees of support exist from the Norse Group? These have to be renewed annually and without them legal barriers to continuing to trade would almost certainly come into force, so the answer to the question “going concern” must be a guarded Yes and No. The auditors have found it necessary to quote the (limited) guarantee before issuing their certificate.

I have noted that the project has required their services.

Finally, we must not forget that the company’s value as a stand alone entity is NIL unless a new owner was willing to absorb it or guarantee its “going concern” status.

I look forward with interest to your response, which I shall post up on my website and blog. I shall inform all relevant parties of this potential problem. Let no-one subsequently try to claim they were unaware of the true situation. We certainly don’t want incompetence and legal wrangling to push up the costs of this unnecessary roadscheme even further. I am still shocked at the £750,000 cost of the “consultation” exercise with a very paltry response rate.

Kind regards

Sheila