§ 2. Mr. Martenasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is now the target date for completion of the M40.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Kenneth Marks)Subject to the satisfactory completion of all the statutory procedures and to the availability of funds, we hope that the M40 motorway between Waterstock, Oxfordshire, and Umberslade, Warwickshire, will be completed by the mid-1980s.
§ Mr. MartenI take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister on his new appointment and to wish him well in his office.
Does he realise that there are people who are rather worried about some of the statistics? I am a great supporter of the M40 extension, but will the Minister give an assurance to others that during any inquiry that might be held statistics concerning the traffic flow and forecasts could be questioned?
§ Mr. MarksI am grateful to the hon. Member for his kind welcome.
A further economic appraisal of the scheme will be made when the final route is decided and the standards to be provided will be subjected to review. On the question of financial estimates, there has been some disagreement expressed by local action groups which, I am sorry to say, have taken building and construction in Western Avenue and Bromsgrove into consideration rather than the actual stretch of motorway to which we were referring.