§ Mr. Vazasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give reasons why his Department is resisting proposals for alternative access to Watermead country park from the A46 rather than through Alderton Close, Rushey Mead, Leicester.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe A46 in Leicester is a heavily used dual carriageway road. Introducing a new access or intensifying the use of an existing access to this type of road is to be avoided on safety grounds.
Our advice was sought informally about the proposed alternative access to the Watermead country park because 16W here the A46 is a trunk road and we are the highway authority. Our advice has been confined to this access as the A46 at Alderton close is no longer a trunk road. Here it is a principal road and Leicestershire county council is the highway authority. Nevertheless, the traffic and road safety implications would still need to be considered.
We understand that a planning application is to be formally submitted at which time when we have seen the details we would hope to discuss with Leicestershire county council and the planning authority how the access to the park should be best accommodated along this section of the A46.