THE Government has no interest in footing half the bill for an £8 billion bridge across Morecambe Bay, according to the leader of Barrow Council.

Cllr David Pidduck has become the latest councillor to enter the debate after the scheme was roundly rejected by fellow Labour members on Tuesday.

The concept of a bridge linking Barrow to the M6 at Lancaster has been revived recently by Conservative councillor Alan Pemberton.

But Cllr Pidduck said the enormous cost and the bay’s protected status were serious obstacles likely to kill off the project.

He said: “This would involve a mega infrastructure project which could only be financed in part by central Government and in part by the private sector. I’m afraid that at this moment in time, central Government has little desire to get involved in mega infrastructure projects.”

As an example, he cited the Government’s lack of involvement in salvaging the £10bn Moorside nuclear project in West Cumbria.

However, Barrow Council has expressed “in principle” support for a barrage along with South Lakeland District Council and Lancaster City Council.

The three councils have joined forces to have Morecambe Bay recognised as an economic region of its own.

Cllr Pidduck said: “We agree with a barrage in principle but the important word here is in principle. There are a number of questions that we, as council leaders, have asked about the massive infrastructure that would be needed in the roads network. There are other issues we’ve raised such as where would it land in Barrow? We know where it would land in Lancaster because it would need to link to the motorway and Heysham.”

Cllr Pidduck said the bay’s wildlife was heavily protected and there was a risk councils could end up “up to their armpits” in protests.

Cllr Pidduck said the bay bridge had also raised unrealistic expectations on social media.

“If you read some of the comments about it, the barrage across the bay has now become a six-lane highway with a railway line through the centre with trains running backwards and forwards. If you start going down that route, that estimate of £8 billion starts to soar,” said Cllr Pidduck, the Labour councillor for Hindpool.

Cllr Pemberton, who represents Hawcoat, responded: “The population of this area is forecast to reduce by thousands of people in the next 20 years. Our geographical isolation is the cause of it, so we have to try and find some way of improving that situation.”