By Gurdip Thandi

Copyright expressandstar

Members of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) board agreed to purchase a number of depots across the region, a move which forms part of a plan to bring the network under public control through franchising.

But a number of members raised concerns about the condition of the depots, urging the need for structural surveys to be carried out to ensure they faced no financial risks in the future.

Bosses assured the board that each site will undergo due diligence as part of the process for purchasing them.

Councillor Adrian Andrew, from Walsall, said: “I’m very concerned about dilapidation.

“What I don’t want us to do as a combined authority is to set ourselves a ticking time bomb for the future.”

Solihull’s Councillor Heather Delaney said: “I understand the need to purchase the depots, however we don’t appear to have any structural surveys or surveys of the conditions of the depots.

“Are we putting ourselves at risk of having significant costs of refurbishment and enhancements to those depots?”

Councillor Tim Huxtable, chair of the WMCA transport delivery overview and scrutiny committee, said they also had concerns regarding the depots.

Pete Bond, director of integrated transport services at Transport for West Midlands, said each individual site will undergo due diligence and no business case will be approved without it.

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker said: “We will make sure we understand those risks and we are paying fair value for any of those assets and hopefully those valuations take into account any liabilities for those depots.”

He added: “This is another point and crucial step in the franchising process. It’s already been independently assessed as bringing best value for money in terms of our future options for the bus network.

“One of the key barriers to delivering those efficiencies is the ownership and operation of our depots.

“If we want a bus network under public control through franchising, we also need to have access to, ownership and responsibility to the depots.

“Without that, we can’t run the network we want and ensure buses are running to a timetable which meets the needs of our communities.”

City of Wolverhampton Council leader Stephen Simkins said: “The bigger risk is not to acquire the sites and be at the behest of the market.”

WMCA already owns the the Walsall depot in Carl Street. The other depots to be purchased are:

Perry Barr depot in Aston LaneCox Street depot in Ford Street, CoventryWolverhampton depot in Park LanePensnett depot in Second AvenueWest Bromwich depot in Oak LaneAcocks Green depot in Fox Hollies RoadBirmingham Central depot in Liverpool StreetYardley Wood depot in Yardley Wood RoadBirmingham Central depot has a short-term lease life remaining and mitigation plans were in place, which could include building a new depot in east Birmingham.