MERSEYSIDE was reeling from a double blow last week as the future of both Merseytram and the new Mersey Gateway appeared to hang in the balance.

The Government announced it would not approve plans for a second Mersey bridge crossing until next year at the earliest, a bitter blow to those hoping to secure a vital new gateway to the region.

And chairman of Merseytravel, Cllr Mark Dowd, issued an ultimatum to all five local councils insisting they approved a financial rescue package for the tram on Friday, or he would consider aborting the project.

The councils could not deliver the yes he wanted as they continued to look at the financial implications, though a final decision has been put off until September.

That rescue deal only became necessary after the Government's decision in June to limit its support to £170m, the amount it had originally pledged in 2002, but now more than £30m less than the project needs due to the cost inflation. It also refused a leasing deal for the trams which saved around £30m, leaving a hole of around £60m.

Merseytravel believes the project remains viable if the local authorities can agree to move it forward, with the hole in funding capable of being bridged by a loan. If not, the tram scheme seems doomed.

While two major transport schemes on Merseysise hang by a thread, there is the prospect of billions of investment in the South-east for the 2012 London Olympics. Are we getting a raw deal? Is the Government betraying Merseyside's regeneration?

kirstiadair@dailypost.co.uk

'Yes' and 'No' arguments >>>

Many of the plans will make a real difference

NO: Wirral's Labour executive member for regeneration, Cllr Pat Hackett

I DON'T think it is fair to say that the Government is betraying regeneration on Merseyside.

On both sides of the Mersey there are dozens of regeneration projects taking place.

Over the past few years many areas of Merseyside have been totally transformed thanks to government funded initiatives.

In Wirral, we have been able to develop the £8m Spaceport initiative at the waterfront, a 10-year master plan for Hoylake and West Kirby in the light of the 2006 Open golf championship, and the redevelopment of New Brighton through the Neptune scheme.

This will give the area a supermarket, sites for casino, bars and restaurants and a new open air swimming pool.

These are to name just a few of the projects currently under way. The region has never seen so many schemes with a strong chance of success which could bring in hundreds of millions of pounds in investment into the area.

Recently consultants said Birkenhead and New Brighton were prime locations for tourism developments.

Many of the plans are stunning and will make a real difference to the area.

These would not have been possible without the help of the government.

The promenades' initiative is another example of regeneration both in Liverpool and Wirral, helping to transform areas around Seacombe and Otterspool into places visitors will want to come to.

We have also developed tourism strategies for the region.

The Speke Garston development has also been a huge success, bring hundreds of jobs into the area and totally changing the way it is perceived.

The cruise liner facility at Pier Head is another positive and of course, the Grosvenor development of Liverpool city centre and the King's Dock arena.

Every scheme has its ups and downs and not every one will work, but usually where one door closes another will open.

The second Mersey crossing and the trams project are both major regeneration initiatives and they have not yet been ruled out completely.

For every initiative that has failed, plenty of others have gone ahead. Merseyside still has everything to play for in terms of what it can get from the government.

There are places in this region that people would not have thought of going to a few years back but which are now able to attract very many visitors every year.

While it is frustrating that schemes are facing setbacks, I do not think we can say we are not getting a fair deal when it comes to regeneration of the region.

It is a feeling of robbing the poor to pay the rich

YES: Liverpool's Lib-Dem executive member for regeneration, Cllr Peter Millea

MERSEYSIDE does not get a fair crack of the whip when it comes to regeneration.

We do not see the same level of commitment from the government as other regions, for example the South East.

The delay with the second Mersey crossing and the problems with funding for the tram schemes are both examples of this.

If these schemes - both vital to regeneration of the area - were in London, they would not have faced the same difficulties as they have on Mersey-side.

I believe the fact things are not looking good for either project comes down to the government not committing itself.

In terms of the tram scheme, everyone was working together to move it forward. Everything was in place, all we needed was the go ahead from the government.

Instead, the decision to limit support to £170m left us with a huge funding gap and a battle between local authorities about how that gap could be plugged.

I believe the Government deliberately made local authorities squabble between themselves at a time when they should be united.

We should never have been put in that situation. The tram scheme is extremely important for the regeneration of the city centre. It is there to help people in areas like Kirkby get back into work by providing then with an excellent transport system. The whole idea of the system was to link people to where the jobs are.

People wrongly compare the problems we have got here with those in London. However, economically we are not at the same level. There is a transport infrastructure in London that we cannot rival. It is publicly funded and accountable. We have all sorts of different systems which can charge what they like. When we want something developed we often need to come up with alternative funding arrangements.

Again, a second Mersey crossing is vital to provide links into the city for people coming in to work, to Speke, Garston, and Liverpool Airport.

Any delay drives up costs and makes a scheme prohibitive. Every day we lose money, projects like the tram and Mersey crossing become less and less likely to happen.

I wonder how much of the money coming from taxpayers on Merseyside is actually returned to them or goes towards benefiting their region. There is a feeling of the government robbing the poor to pay the rich. Of course with the Olympics coming up in 2012, London will have more money pumped into it.

While the city is to be congratulated on its success, it does seem to illustrate again how Merseyside does not get its share of public money. We do not get equal consideration and seem to have to fight for everything.