 THE guardians of Merseyside's European purse strings were yesterday told they did not need to produce any extra money to pay for Merseytram. It had been widely expected that Merseytravel chief executive Neil Scales would ask for extra Objective 1 funds to plug a gap of more than £30m in the finances of Line One. But at a lunchtime meeting yesterday, members of the Objective 1 programme committee did not receive any such request from Mr Scales. Instead, they heard that a funding package had been put together which could deliver Merseytram, apparently without any extra European cash. Objective 1 is already putting £25m into Merseytram and any extra funds would need to come from reductions in grants to other schemes around the county. Yesterday's committee passed four recommendations, the most significant of which reaffirmed their support for the tram and called on the European Commission to endorse the £25m grant as soon as possible. Last night a Merseytravel spokesman said: "We are satisfied with the outcome of today's meeting and continue to work towards a funding package which will make Merseytram a reality." So, if the extra money isn't coming from Europe, then where? The Government will not add any more to the £170m it originally pledged back in 2002, but says that amount does remain on the table. It appears Merseytravel will almost certainly have to go to the Public Sector Loan Board to borrow a significant amount of the £34m shortfall. But that will be dependent on approval from the District Auditor, while the Government has also insisted that all five Merseyside councils who make up Merseytravel must sign a letter outlining their acceptance of the financial details. That may be harder to deliver than it might first appear with Liverpool and Knowsley the only two councils who benefit directly from the arrival of the tram, with Line One linking the city centre to Kirkby. As the Daily Post revealed yesterday, there is also thought to be up to £8m available from the Government's pledge to provide free transport for the over-65s scheme. Since Merseytravel already operates such a scheme, the new investment could be diverted to the tram. Revenue from the Mersey Tunnels could also be used, with the tunnels producing a surplus of around £3m-£4m a year. Wherever the money comes from, it must happen quickly or the project will simply die a lingering death as the costs of maintaining the plethora of consultants continuing to work on it simply become unsustainable. andykelly@dailypost.co.uk | 
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