§ 3. Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will make a statement on the Under-secretary of State's visit to Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, on 6 February to meet representatives of the A6 action group and local councillors; and what further action he envisages, following that meeting.
§ The Under-Secretary of State For Transport (Mr. Kenneth Clarke)The visit enabled me to see and hear about the very real problems of these villages. I shall now be considering whether room can be found for a bypass in the trunk road programme in the light of the needs of other towns.
§ Mr. LathamFollowing my hon. and learned Friend's most helpful visit, which was much appreciated by my constituents, does he recall the very unsatisfactory environmental conditions that he saw in Mountsorrel and elsewhere as a result of the traffic on the A6? Although nobody can expect a bypass at once, will my hon. and learned Friend do his best to introduce a bypass into the programme as soon as possible?
§ Mr. ClarkeConditions in those towns were obviously unsatisfactory. Sooner or later a bypass will have to be built to take the lorries out of them. As I promised when I made my visit, we shall review the programme this year. We shall have to weigh this up against other priorities to see if we can put a scheme into the national programme.